Michelle's Story
by pandagurl7
Summary: This story is about a girl named Michelle. She is a first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When she finally gets there, she meets some unusual friends, and has many exciting adventures. My first fic.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fanfic, and I'm not sure if it's any good, so reviews are appreciated. Anything that could make my story better, or just saying you like it would really make my day. No flames, please. Sorry if it seems boring at first, but if you stick with it, it'll get more interesting.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything else belongs to me, pandagurl7.

-

Hi! My name is Michelle. I'm eleven years old, currently. I just thought I'd give you a little background about me, before I start. I have shoulder-length strawberry-red hair and hazel eyes. I'm very tall, according to a lot of the people I know. I'm a half-blood. My mum is a witch, and my dad is a muggle. This story is about my adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Well, here goes.

Chapter 1

"Come on, Michelle! You're going to miss the train!" My mother shouted down the stairs.

I knew for a fact that the train wouldn't get there for an hour or two, my mother was just trying to scare me awake. It didn't work.

"Five more minutes, please!" I shouted back.

"I already gave you five minutes! Get up here, NOW!" My mother has a pretty bad temper sometimes.

"ALRIGHT… I'll be up in a minute."

I got out of bed and looked through my closet. This took awhile, considering my closet is the messiest closet in the WORLD. I can't find a single thing in my closet. Shirts, pants, socks, shoes, EVERYTHING is mixed up in my closet. After ten minutes of searching, I found a pair of jeans and my favorite shirt. It's blue and says in silver writing, 'The WORLD needs more HUGS'. It's the perfect shirt for me. I love to hug a little TOO much. It scares my dad, but only a little.

After I got my shoes on, I walked slowly upstairs. That is I TRIED to walk up slowly, but I smelled pancakes and bacon, my favorite breakfast foods in the world.

"Morning, mum." I said as I sat at the table and yawned.

"Morning, sleepyhead." She said in reply.

"When is breakfast going to be ready?" I asked.

"When it's ready." My dad said as he walked through the kitchen to get to the living room.

"Why can't that be now?" I asked him.

He didn't answer me.

"Fine! Be that way!" I shouted.

"Breakfast is ready!" My mum shouted to my dad.

"I'm not hungry."

"Whatever you say. Come here if you want something to eat, Michelle."

I ran over, got a plate, grabbed three strips of bacon and one pancake, and slowly walked back to the table, so as not to drop my food.

"This is REALLY good, mum!" I said as I stuffed my face.

"Thank-you. I can see you're hungry today."

"Uh-huh." I said through a mouthful of food.

I finished eating, and put my plate in the sink. Then, I went out to the living room and sat on the couch next to my dad.

"Whatcha watchin'?" I asked.

"I don't know."

He was flicking through the channels with the remote, trying to decide what to watch. My dad can never decide on what to watch, so I decided to go back to the kitchen and see what mum was doing.

She was washing the dishes. Not very exciting.

"When are we leaving?"

"Soon, maybe in a half hour. Why don't you get your trunk in the car?"

"Alright."

I went down to the basement, and found my trunk at the bottom of the stairs, with my cat sitting on top of it.

"Sorry, kitty, but I need my trunk."

As soon as I grabbed my trunk, the cat jumped off, and ran into my room.

"Oh well."

I dragged my trunk up the stairs, grabbed the keys to my mums car, unlocked it, and put my trunk in the back.

"Well, that's done."

I sighed. I was getting bored. 'At least we're leaving soon.' I thought. At the thought of going to Hogwarts, my stomach filled with butterflies, and my heart raced. I've wanted to go to Hogwarts for years, and now it was finally happening.

I was excited, but I was nervous, too. It was going to be strange living with people I didn't know. THAT was what was making me nervous. I never did well when it came to meeting new people. Mostly other girls, though. I did fine when I met new guys, but I could never talk to other girls.

I went inside and sat at the table again.

"How much longer till we leave, mum?"

"I think we're ready to leave now."

"REALLY?!"

"Yep. Go get your cat and get in the car. I'll be out in a second."

"Okay mum." I said excitedly.

I was FINALLY going to Hogwarts!

A/N: nervously Was it any good? Please review and tell me if you think I should continue, or just drop this story. Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it. Sorry if it seems long. It took up five pages on Microsoft word, so I decided to end it as soon as possible. Well, here's the chapter!

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything else, belongs to me, pandagurl7.

Chapter 2

I was FINALLY going to leave for Hogwarts! I felt like I had been waiting for _decades,_ but I'd only been waiting for a year. I was so excited that I ran over to the stairs as fast as I could.

"Be careful! Don't run!" I heard my mum yell after me.

"Alright!" I yelled back, but I wasn't listening, as usual.

As I ran to the bottom of the stairs, I felt my foot catch on the carpet, and I started to fall.

"AHHH!!"

I fell down the stairs, but, luckily, I was only a few stairs from the bottom, so the fall wasn't that bad. Although, I did get a pretty bad cut on my leg.

"Oww. Better listen to mum next time." I mumbled to myself, getting up and looking around the room for my cat.

"Kit-Kit!" I called.

Kit-Kit has been my cat since I was seven years old. My grandparents found her in their garage, and they knew we took in almost any animal that our neighbors found, so they asked us if we would like to take her. We couldn't say no, of course.

Kit-Kit is a calico cat. She has white feet, and white on her belly and her chin. She is mainly black and brown, with a few spots of orange here and there. She is a pretty small cat, though she's not very young. She is the best cat my family has ever had. I just couldn't leave without her.

"Kit-Kit!" I called again.

"Meow." I heard from behind the couch of our small family room.

"There you are!" I exclaimed as I walked over to pick her up.

Once I had Kit-Kit all ready to go, I walked up the stairs carrying her cat carrier. When I went out to the car, I found my mum in the passenger seat, and my dad ready to leave.

"You're finally ready to go, eh?" My dad said, as I put the cat carrier in the car and climbed in myself.

"Yep!" I said excitedly. "Let's go!"

"Alright then." My dad said as he pulled out of the driveway.

I looked at my house until we turned a corner, and I could no longer see it. I wouldn't be going back for a while, so I wanted to make sure the image of it was locked in my head.

It took us about twenty minutes to get there, and when we did, my parents immediately unloaded my trunk and the cat carrier from the car, and found a trolley to put it on.

"I can't believe I'm finally here." I said quietly, as we walked into the station.

"Which train is ours?" I asked my mum when we had gotten in.

"None of these ones." She said in reply.

"What do you mean, 'none of these ones'? Then what train am I boarding? An invisible one?" I asked incredulously.

My mum laughed. "It's not 'invisible'. We just need to go a certain way to get to it."

I just stood there and stared at her blankly.

"Follow me." My mum said commandingly.

I looked at my dad as if he knew what was going on, but he just shrugged and said, "If I knew, I would tell ya."

So, we followed my mum, right up to a stone column.

"Here we are." She said proudly.

"Umm, mum? This is just a stone column. How am I supposed to find my train, with a stone column?"

"It's not just a stone column. Watch." And with that, my mum looked around, and then stepped through the column.

"Whoa! Did you see that?" I asked my dad.

"Yep." He said, staring at the column with disbelief written clearly on his face.

"Are you two coming, or not?" My mum said as she stepped back out of the column.

"I'm coming!" I said as I took my trolley from my dad and ran through the column.

Once I was through, I stared in awe at the platform, and all of the people there.

The platform was packed with people, and there was a big, scarlet steam engine making smoke that was filling the whole area.

I just stood there, taking in my surroundings, when I felt a gentle shove from behind me. Knocked out of my trance, I turned around and saw my dad, standing much the same way I had been, before he shoved me.

"We better get your stuff on the train and find you a compartment." He said.

"Alright." I replied.

My mum came and helped my dad and I as we dragged my trunk and the cat carrier to the train and found me a compartment.

'This is going to be fun.' I thought.

A/N: Was it good enough? Next chapter will be better, I promise. Please review and tell me what you think! Constructive critisism, but no flames! Until next chapter! -pandagurl7


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's chapter 3! Hope you enjoy it! Things are going to get more interesting from this chapter on, so please stick with me!

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything else belongs to me, pandagurl7.

Chapter 3

Once I was settled in my compartment, my parents said good-bye and left.

'Finally alone.' I thought.

Then, I heard a quiet knock on the door, and a person's voice.

"Hello?" It asked quietly.

I stood and walked over to the compartment door and opened it. Outside, there was a tall, black-haired boy with glasses, who looked surprised to find that someone was in the compartment.

"Hello!" I said cheerfully. "Do you need a place to sit? There's plenty of room."

"Thanks." He said as he dragged his trunk into the compartment.

I watched as he dragged his trunk in and tried to put it on the rack. Apparently, it was a very heavy trunk, because it kept falling every time he tried to put it up.

"Need some help?" I asked politely.

"Yes." He said as he tried to put his trunk on the rack, and failed yet again.

"Here. Let me grab that end." I said as I walked forward to help him pull his trunk up.

When the trunk was finally up on the rack, I went back to my seat, and he sat across from me. He watched me for a second as I pulled out one of my favorite books, and started reading. Then he looked out the window and seemed to be watching something.

Then, I decided to introduce myself, instead of sit and act like he wasn't there.

"Hi. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself before. My name is Michelle Winslow." I said, in a slightly awkward tone, as I reached my hand out for him to take.

"Hi. My name's Harry Potter." He said in a friendly way, as he reached out and took my hand and shook it.

"Did you say your name was Harry Potter?" I asked, disbelief in my voice.

"Um…yes…" He said. He seemed to suddenly be very interested in his shoes. He was staring at them as if he could burn a hole in them if he looked long enough.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to be rude. My mum told me about you though. And she told me you had a lightning-shaped scar on your forehead. Do you really…?" I trailed off awkwardly, feeling stupid for asking him that question.

"Yeah, I have the scar. See?" He said as he pulled his bangs back to reveal a lightning-shaped scar in the center of his fore-head.

"Whoa…" I whispered quietly.

"That's what everyone says." He said as he laughed quietly, letting his bangs fall back into place.

I just looked at him and gave him a small smile. Then, we heard a loud knock on the door, and in came three red-headed boys. Two looked exactly alike, so I guessed they were twins. The third one was slightly shorter, and looked a little younger.

One of the older boys spoke to Harry. "Hi! Didn't we see you earlier? We decided to introduce ourselves, to be polite. My name's Fred Weasley, this is my twin brother, George, and this is our youngest brother, Ron." He said, gesturing to each of his brothers in turn. Then, he turned to Harry and asked, "What's your name?"

"Harry Potter." Harry said quietly, slightly alarmed at the speed Fred was talking.

"Whoa! Can we see your scar?" George asked.

Harry pulled back his bangs to reveal the scar.

"Awesome!" The twins said in unison.

Then, Fred turned and spoke to Ron. "Ron, we're gonna go down to the middle of the train. Lee Jordan has a tarantula! Have fun with your new friends." Fred finished.

Ron just stood there and watched as his brothers turned and left him with Harry and I.

"Hi." He said uncertainly.

"Hi! I'm Michelle Winslow, and I'm pretty sure you know who Harry is. Welcome to our compartment." I said in a friendly tone.

"Thanks." Ron sounded relieved.

Ron sat down in the corner by the window and stared at the blurred landscape.

For a half-hour, we sat in silence. Ron was still watching the landscape, Harry was deep in thought, and I was reading my book. Then, I set down my book, and made an announcement.

"I'm hungry."

Harry looked at me, and Ron looked up from the window at me. They both looked as if they had never heard someone say they were hungry before.

"What? I'm allowed to be hungry! Does any one have anything to eat?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other, then Ron pulled out some sandwiches, that looked very unappetizing.

"My mum always forgets I don't like corned beef." Ron explained, looking at the gross-looking sandwiches.

Just then, a witch pushing a cart full of candy walked past our compartment.

"Would you like anything off the cart, dears?" She asked.

"YES!" Harry and I said quickly, and somewhat loudly.

Harry and I looked at the cart and pulled off anything that looked good. Harry insisted on paying for it all. As we walked back into the compartment, Ron looked at the pile of candy in our arms, looking jealous.

I sat down and opened a chocolate frog and shoved it in my mouth. "Want one?" I asked through a mouthful of chocolate. I held out a frog for him to take.

"Thanks." He said as he viciously opened the package and bit into the frog.

"God, try not to choke, Ron!" I said, as I laughed at his behavior.

"I'll try!" He said through a mouthful of chocolate.

Once we had finished our candy, we fell in to a content silence that lasted about five minutes. Then there was another knock on the door.

"Hello? Can we come in? We need to ask you something." A girl's voice sounded outside the door.

"Come in!" I shouted.

The door opened, and in stepped a girl with bushy brown hair, and a bossy look about her, and a boy with a round face, and short brown hair.

"Have you seen a toad? Neville seems to have lost his." The bossy-looking girl said quickly.

"Um...no we haven't seen a toad." I said politely.

"Well, can you keep an eye out for it? I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Who're you?" She asked rather quickly.

"Um….I'm Michelle Winslow, and these are my friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." I introduced quickly.

"Okay. Nice to meet you. You should change into your robes. I think we'll be there soon." She said.

Then she left, taking Neville with her.

"Well, I think I'm going to change." I said to the boys.

"Me too." Harry and Ron said together.

We all got our robes from our trunks, and went to the bathrooms to change. When we got back, we all went back to what we were doing before the witch with the candy cart came, and rode the rest of the way to Hogwarts in silence.

When we got off of the train we all gasped at the sight of the school in front of us.

"Oh. My. God." I said slowly as I stared up at the castle.

"This is going to be an interesting school year." I said.

Harry and Ron just nodded.

A/N: Did you like it? Please press thet pretty blue button and tell me what you think. Constructive critisism is always appreciated, but no flames! Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to anyone who reviewed! It helped me put this chapter up faster. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make my story better, please let me know! It's my first fic, so I'm still learning. Well, hope you enjoy chapter 4!

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. Everything else, belongs to me, pandagurl7.

Chapter 4

As Harry, Ron, and I stared at the enormous castle in front of us, we didn't even realize that all the first years seemed to be going over to the edge of the platform. Until someone pushed all of us over in that direction, that is.

"We need to go over there!" I recognized the voice of Hermione Granger as she pushed the three of us over to the large group of first years.

"Why?" I asked.

"We have to go over there. We ride the boats up to the castle! Someone's going to take us to the boats." She said as if we should have known that years ago.

"Well, excuse me for not paying attention." I mumbled under my breath so she wouldn't hear.

Unfortunately, she heard something.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." I said quickly.

"Oh. Okay." She said suspiciously.

'That was close.' I thought.

When Hermione had succeeded in pushing Harry, Ron, and I over to the edge of the platform, we saw the biggest man we had ever seen, looking over the platform to make sure all the first years where there.

"Who is _that_?" I asked no one in particular.

"That's Hagrid." Harry answered my question.

He saw the look on my face and added quickly, "He's not gonna hurt us, don't worry." Then he put his hand on my shoulder reassuringly.

"I hope not. You'd definitely have some broken bones." I said.

Then, once Hagrid was positive he had all the first years there, he said, "All right, firs' years follow me!" Then he led us down a narrow path. No one spoke, and it was very dark.

When we got to the other end, we saw the edge of a huge black lake, with a small fleet of boats sitting by the edge.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid shouted.

"Let's go in that one!" I shouted to Harry and Ron, pointing to the boat at the very back.

"Okay!" They yelled back. It had gotten very loud, what with all the first years trying to find their friends and get a boat.

I grabbed Harry and Ron's arms, so I wouldn't lose them in the crowd, and lead them over to the last boat. We were followed by Hermione, who had heard me suggest that we go in the last boat.

None of us said anything once we were settled into the boat. Then we heard Hagrids voice from the front of the fleet. "Everyone ready? Right then."

Suddenly, all the little boats were gliding on the water and headed up to the castle. No one spoke. I guessed everyone was nervous about what was to come.

When we got up to the shore in front of the castle, Hagrid checked all the boats to make sure nothing was left in them.

"You there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid asked Neville as he held up a toad. Neville ran up to him and took his toad gratefully. Then, Hagrid led us up a small passageway in the rock, and we came out on grass in front of the castle. Then he led us up a flight of stone steps, to a huge oak door.

"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked. "Alrigh' then."

Then he knocked on the door three times. The door swung open so suddenly, that I stumbled back, as I was afraid of being hit. In the doorway was a tall, black-haired, stern-looking witch in emerald robes.

"Here are the firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said.

"Thank-you, Hagrid. First years, follow me." She pulled the door wide open, and all the first years stepped in. We were in a wide entrance hall with a staircase on one side, and another large door on the other side.

"I must inform the Head Master of your arrival. Stay here, and I will be back to bring you to the Sorting." She informed us.

She went over to the huge doors, opened one and walked into another huge room, by the looks of it.

As soon as she was gone, the entrance hall burst into conversation.

"I'm so nervous!" I said.

"Me too. How do the sort us, exactly?" Harry asked Ron.

"I don't know. Fred said it was a test, and that it hurts a lot, but I'm pretty sure he was kidding."

All three of us slipped into silence, listening to Hermione talk to a group of girls about the spells she knew.

When I looked around, I saw that everyone looked terrified, except for Hermione. She looked so ready; it was slightly nauseating to me, seeing as everyone else was terrified out of their minds.

Then Professor McGonagall came back in, and said, "Everyone, follow me. The Sorting is about to start."

Everyone got in a line. Harry was in front of me, and Ron was behind me. I looked at Ron, and he seemed slightly annoyed with something. Or someone. Behind him, I could hear Hermione reciting all the spells she knew under her breath. Ron looked to me for help, but I just shrugged and turned back around.

When we got into the dining hall, Professor McGonagall lead us right up to the front. We all stood in a line, facing the students seated at the long tables in front of us. McGonagall placed a stool in front of us, and then she placed an old hat on top of the stool. All the first years looked confused as to why there was an old hat in front of us, but right then it burst into song.

….

When the song was over, Professor McGonagall told us that when our name was called, to sit on the stool and put the hat on our heads. I didn't pay attention to the kids' names; I just watched them go up to be sorted. Then, I heard a familiar name.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione practically ran up to the stool, and quickly put the hat on her head. A few seconds later, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" And Hermione ran over to the table on the far right that was cheering loudly.

Then, I went back to my thoughts, until I heard another familiar name.

"Longbottom, Neville!"

Neville fell on his way over to the hat, and when he got there and had the hat on, it took a long time to decide. Then it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

And he ran to join Hermione, taking the hat with him. Then he ran back, apologized as he gave McGonagall the hat, and ran to the table to sit next to Hermione.

For a while, no one I knew was called. Then, I looked up at the sound of a very familiar name.

"Potter, Harry!"

Harry looked very scared as he looked at me. I smiled at him, and he smiled back, seeming to be a little more confident. He walked up and put the hat on slowly, then after about a minute of waiting, the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" And Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table slowly, shaking with relief.

There were only a small amount of students left now, Ron and I being two of them.

Finally Ron's name was called, and he went to Gryffindor, too, sitting next to Harry and his brothers.

'I need to be in Gryffindor.' I thought to myself.

Finally, my name was called. I walked up slowly, sat and put the hat on my head. It covered my eyes, so I couldn't see the other students.

'Hmmm….very interesting.' I heard someone say.

'What was that?' I thought in my head.

'I'm the Sorting Hat.' The voice informed me.

'Oh.' I thought.

'Now, let's see. You have bravery, good for a Gryffindor, your intelligent, a Ravenclaw trait, you want to make a name for yourself, hmm, Slytherin would be a good place for you.'

'Not Slytherin!' I thought quickly.

'Not Slytherin? You could do well there. No? Alright then, I think I'll put you in…'

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted.

I took the hat off, and as I walked to the spot that Harry had saved for me at the table, I shook with relief.

"Now were all in Gryffindor!" Harry said enthusiastically.

"I'm glad. The Slytherin table looks scary." I said.

Harry just laughed, and we watched the front of the hall as one more kid was sorted. Then McGonagall took the stool and the hat away, and someone stood up, the Head Master, I guessed, and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"For those who are just joining us this year, welcome. And for the rest, welcome back. Now, let us enjoy our delicious feast!" When he had finished speaking, food had appeared on all the plates. Ron and I immediately grabbed all we could eat, but Harry just sat there with his mouth wide open in awe.

"Aren't you gonna eat something?" I asked him.

Harry didn't answer. Instead, he just stuffed his plate with anything within his reach. I just shrugged and went back to eating.

When we had all finished, there was little talk. Everyone was sitting in there seats, a content look on their faces.

Then Dumbledore stood and gave a little cough, and every ones attention turned to him.

"I have a few start-of-term notices. The forest on the grounds is forbidden for all students. I have been asked to remind you that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house, see Madam Hooch. Finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the left-hand side is out of bounds to everyone. And now before we go to bed, let's sing the school song! Everyone pick your favorite tune!"

And suddenly the entire school was singing. Everyone finished the song at different times. Finally, only the Weasley twins were left singing to a slow funeral march.

When they were done, Percy instructed all the first years to follow him to the dormitories. We followed him in silence, and suddenly he stopped outside a portrait of a fat woman in a pink dress.

"Password?" She asked.

"Caput Draconis." Percy answered, and the portrait swung open to reveal a round hole in the wall. We all walked through, and stepped into a room with a fireplace, a few couches and chairs, some tables, and two staircases, leading off to what could only be the dorms.

"Now, girls on the left, boys on the right. Your things should be in your room."

I said good-night to Harry and Ron and walked up the left staircase. When I entered the room, I saw my things by a four-poster bed that was underneath a window. I grabbed my pajamas from my trunk, changed in the bathrooms, let Kit-Kit out of her carrier, and laid down on my bed. Kit-Kit curled up next to me and purred as I drowsily pet her.

The last thing I remembered thinking was, 'I love this school.' Then, I was fast asleep.

A/N: Sorry if it was long. I just wanted to get all of this out of the way so I can move on quicker. Press that pretty blue button and tell me what you think! I'd appreciate it! Again, no flames. Until next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry if this chapter seems boring. Just bear with me. I needed to get as much as possible out of the way in this chapter. It's pretty long, too. Please let me know if I made any mistakes. I stayed up until midnight writing this so I could get it out to you guys as soon as possible. Well, I hope you try to enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything else belongs to me, pandagurl7.

Chapter 5

When I woke up the next day, it was to Hermione's face. She was shaking me, and saying, "Come on! Wake up! It's almost time for breakfast!"

"Five more minutes, please!" I said.

"No! We need to get down too breakfast! Their going to give us our schedules!"

"Ok, ok! God!" I said, slightly mad at Hermione because she wouldn't let me have five more minutes of rest.

"Hurry!" Hermione said as I went to the bathroom to change.

"Alright!" I said angrily. I'm not a morning person.

When I was done in the bathroom, Hermione practically dragged me down the stairs in her hurry to get to breakfast. When we got down to the great hall, I immediately went over to where Ron and Harry were sitting.

I sat down and glared at my plate, like it was the one at fault for waking me up so early.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry asked when he saw me glaring at my plate.

"I'm not a morning person." I said.

"I can see that."

I looked at the food on the table, grabbed whatever looked good, and ate, glaring at my plate the whole time.

"You know, it's not the plates fault." Harry said after a while.

"I know that. It's just something to vent my anger at. Unless, you'd rather that I vent my anger at you. That can be arranged, very quickly." I said irritably.

"No, that's ok; vent your anger at the plate." Harry said.

Then Harry and I went back to eating our breakfast. After a few minutes, Professor McGonagall came by to give us our schedules.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Winslow, here are your schedules. I expect to see you in class." And with that, she left.

Harry, Ron and I looked over our schedules, and groaned when we saw who we had our first class with.

"Potions with the Slytherins. Just our luck." Ron said.

"Well, its one class right? It can't be that bad." I said, trying to be optimistic, even though I wasn't in the best mood.

When breakfast was over, Harry, Ron, and I walked down to the dungeons. When we got into the classroom, Harry and I sat together, and Ron sat behind us. To Ron's dismay, Hermione sat next to him, and immediately launched into what she had already learned about potions.

When I looked at him, Ron's mouth formed the words 'Help me!' I gave him a weird look and turned back around.

"What do you think potions will be like?" I asked Harry.

"Ron said that the teachers name is Professor Snape, and that he's head of Slytherin. Ron's older brother, Fred, told him that Snape always favors his house. So, I think that potions is going to be my least favorite class." Harry said.

"I already don't like potions. Having a class in the dungeons isn't exactly a spirit-lifter." I said.

"True."

Then, the professor entered the classroom. I instantly didn't like him. He was very intimidating. He was tall, with greasy-looking black hair. He wore long, black robes that billowed out behind him when he walked. It made him look strangely like a bat. He went to the front of the room, and surveyed the class. As he looked in my direction, I noticed his eyes looked completely black. It scared me a little.

The first thing Snape did was take roll-call. When that was done, he immediately started asking us questions. He asked Harry every question, and purposely ignored Hermione, whose hand shot in the air every time he asked a question.

It was the first class of the year, and he already had everyone making a potion. Neville spilled a potion, and had to be taken to the hospital wing.

'What a bad first day.' I thought as I watched Seamus, Neville's partner, escort him to the hospital wing.

When the class ended an hour later, everyone tried to get out of the room at once. Everyone in Gryffindor instantly hated potions. Once everyone was out of the room, we all practically ran to the next class.

"I hate Snape." Harry said, as soon as we were out of range of the potions classroom, and the potions master.

"Me too. He was terrible to Neville." I said.

"I can't believe he gave us an assignment on the first day!" Ron said.

Our next class was charms, so we all brightened considerably. At least Snape wasn't our teacher for that class.

When we got into the room, I sat in between Ron and Harry. Everyone was wondering when the Professor was going to be there, when someone appeared from behind the desk at the end of the room. He took roll-call and introduced himself as Professor Flitwick. Professor Flitwick was an extremely short wizard who had to stand on a large pile of books to be able to see over his desk.

Charms was an interesting class, and it seemed like it was over far too quickly. Next was transfiguration. Professor McGonagall taught this class. It was easy to see that she wasn't the type of teacher to take sides. She would give detentions to anyone who misbehaved. Transfiguration was interesting too, but easily the most difficult class I had been to.

Next was History of Magic. Easily the most boring class. The teacher is a ghost named Professor Binns. He droned on and on and it seemed like it was never going to end. Ron and Harry decided to sit next to each other for this class, so Hermione sat with me. I nearly fell asleep twice. Both times, Hermione prodded me in the side with her quill. I don't know how she managed to stay awake and take notes for an hour, but she did.

Then lunch finally came, and we were glad to be released from classes, if only for a little bit. When lunch was done, we had classes again. When classes were all over, I immediately went to the library. We already had a lot of homework, and I wanted it done as soon as possible. When I got to the library, I immediately started work on my potions homework. When that was half way done, I almost fell asleep. Then I realized dinner was in ten minutes, so I packed everything up, and ran to the great hall.

"Hi guys." I greeted Harry and Ron breathlessly.

"Hi. Where have you been?" Ron asked through a mouthful of chicken.

"Library. And that's real nice, Ron." I said sarcastically.

"What were you doing in the library?" Harry asked.

"Working on my potions homework." I said as I stuffed my plate with all my favorite foods.

"Already?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yeah, 'Already'. I want it out of the way as soon as possible." I said as I stuffed my face.

"Nice." Ron said as he watched me shove food into my mouth hungrily.

"Thanks." I said with a cheeky grin.

When dinner was over, Harry, Ron, and I walked up to the common room. When we got there, I went over to the couch, and got a spot by the fireplace. I pulled out my potions homework, and finished it quickly. When it was done, I decided to go to bed. It had been a very long first day.

"Night, guys." I said as I walked over to the staircase.

"Night." They said simultaneously.

I walked up the stairs, grabbed my pajamas, and went into the bathroom. When I came out, I found Hermione working on her homework, all her books spread around her on her bed, while all the other girls slept.

"Umm… Hermione? Aren't you going to get a few hours of sleep?" I asked.

"Once this assignment is done." She said.

"Alright then. Whatever you say. Good night." I said as I joined Kit-Kit on my bed.

"Night." I heard Hermione say quietly as she continued to work on her assignment.

The last thing I remembered was Kit-Kit purring contently as she slept next to me.

A/N: Please press that blue button and tell me what you think. I apologize if it seemed long or boring. I tried to write a good chapter. I'm tired, so I think I'll go to bed and leave the story on that note. Until next chapter! Hopefully...


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I didn't know what to write for this chapter, so I'm sorry if it's not very good. I had a little trouble writing it, but I managed to finish it. If you guys could tell me if it's okay, I would appreciate it. Here's chapter six!

Disclaimer: I only own Michelle and Kit-Kit.

Chapter 6

At the end of the week, I had more homework than I'd ever had before. A transfiguration assignment, charms homework, history of magic, the list went on and on. The only thing I had managed to finish so far was the potions assignment Snape had given us.

I woke up Saturday morning, and went through my usual morning routine. When we were ready, Hermione and I walked down to the great hall. When we got there, breakfast had just started, and Harry and Ron were already there.

"Hi guys." I said as I sat across from them.

"Hey." They said simultaneously.

"What are you guys gonna do today?" I asked them, as I filled my plate.

"I dunno." Harry said, as he shoveled pancakes into his mouth.

"I'm gonna finish my assignments. You guys wanna help?" I asked them.

"Sure. Got nothing better to do." Ron said as he ate.

When we finished eating, Harry, Ron, and I went to the library to get to work on our assignments. As soon as we got there, I set my bag down at a table and went to get some books. When I came back to the table, I dropped the books and pulled out my homework. Harry and Ron just watched me.

"What?" I asked after a minute of them just staring at me.

"What are we supposed to do?" Ron asked.

"You're supposed to use the books to work on your assignments." I said slowly, as if explaining it to a three year old.

"Which assignment?" Ron asked.

"Any assignment." I said, becoming slightly irritated.

"Oh, okay." Ron said.

Harry had been silent the whole time, staring at the pile of books in front of him.

"You do know how to use a book, right?" I asked him, once I saw him staring at the pile.

"Yeah," He said, shaking his head as if coming out of a daze.

"Then why don't you start working on your assignments?" I asked.

"Which one?"

"I don't care which one!" I said, starting to get angry.

"Alright! You don't have to yell." Harry said as he grabbed a book off the pile.

After an hour of work, I only had one assignment left. It was for history of magic. I reached for a book, when someone grabbed it before I could touch it.

"Hey!" I said indignantly. "I was gonna use that!"

"Were you? So sorry." I heard a sneering voice from behind me.

I turned around, and behind me stood a pale, blonde-haired boy, and two large boys on either side of him. The blonde-haired boy was holding my book in his right hand.

I glared at him as I reached out to grab my book, but one of the large boys went in front of him, and blocked my hand.

"Give me my book!" I said, trying to reach around the larger boy. The other boy pushed my hand out of the way as he moved in front of the blonde boy.

Harry turned around, and immediately recognized the boys that had my book.

"Give her the book, Malfoy." Harry said coolly.

"She wasn't using it. Why should I give it to her?" Malfoy asked Harry.

"It was on our table, Malfoy. That means we were going to use it." Harry said slowly, as if talking to a five year old.

"I wanted to use it, so I took it. No one was using it." Malfoy said.

"I was going to use it. You saw me reach for it." I said, finally getting into the conversation.

"You were reaching for it? I didn't notice." He said, pretending to be surprised.

"Don't act like you're stupid," I said, becoming annoyed. "You saw me reach for it. Unless you're blind."

He didn't seem to like my blind comment.

"I'm not blind." He said through gritted teeth.

"Really? Had me fooled." I said.

He narrowed his eyes at me, said, "Take the stupid book. I don't need it." Then he threw it on the table, knocking a few books off the pile.

Then, he left with his 'friends', the two of them glaring at us menacingly the whole time.

Ron had pretended to be reading a book the whole time, glancing over the top occasionally. I grabbed the book out of his hands, and said, "A little help would have been nice."

"Sorry! What was I supposed to do?" Ron asked.

"I dunno. Maybe you could have said something?" I said.

"And risk being beaten up?"

"Whatever. Let's go." I said.

I grabbed the book I needed, and Harry helped me put the rest away. Once we were out of the library, we headed up to the common room.

"Who was that? In the library." I asked Harry as we walked.

"What? Oh, that was Draco Malfoy."

"How do you know him?"

"We were getting our robes at the same time. We talked for a little bit, then I left with Hagrid. He's not a pleasant person."

"Obviously."

We walked the rest of the way in silence, gave the fat lady the password, and climbed through the portrait hole. When we got in, we walked to the couches, and sat down.

"What do you guys want to do?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Let's play wizard chess!" Ron said after a minute.

"Yeah!" I agreed.

"Wizard chess?" Harry asked, confused.

"We have to teach him how to play." Ron said.

"Do you have a board?" I asked Ron.

"Of course."

"Go get it."

Ron ran up the stairs to the boys dorms, and came back down with a wizard chess set. He opened it, and I helped him set it up. When it was ready, Ron and I started to teach Harry how to play.

Ron and I started to play, to demonstrate for Harry.

"Crap." I said, staring at the board. The next move Ron made won the game for him.

"Yes!" Ron exclaimed, once he had won.

"I'll get you next time, Weasley." I said.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will." Ron said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at him, and helped set up the pieces so he and Harry could play. By the end of that game, Ron had won, obviously. Harry and Ron picked up the pieces, and Ron went to the boys' dorms to put the game away.

"That was fun." Harry said as he sat on the couch next to me.

"Yeah, if you think losing a game is classified as 'fun'." I said, laughing.

Harry laughed with me. Then Ron came back down, and sat in one of the chairs next to the couch.

"What time is it?" I asked suddenly.

"Lunch time." Ron said, looking at his watch.

"Let's head down." Harry said, already walking across the room.

"Wait for us!" I shouted after him.

He waited by the portrait hole for us to catch up, then he opened it and we all walked through. We walked down to the great hall together, and sat at the Gryffindor table.

We all piled food onto our plates, and started eating when Hermione came up and sat across from us.

"Hi, guys!" She said cheerfully.

"Hi." We said simultaneously.

"What have you been up to?" She asked, like she hadn't seen us for years.

"We've been working on our assignments in the library." I said.

"Good idea. Did you get them done?"

"All but one for me." I replied.

"Umm…some of them are done." Ron said awkwardly when Hermione looked at him.

"Same for me." Harry said quickly, before Hermione had a chance to ask.

"Well, I hope you get them all finished soon." She said to us.

"We'll try." I said.

We ate the rest of our meal in silence. When we were done, we went up to the common room and played exploding snap and wizards chess until dinner. After dinner, we worked on our assignments in the common room. The boys pulled out their history of magic assignments, and watched what I wrote carefully. Then, they would scribble something on their parchment.

"Are you guys copying me?" I asked, staring at them suspiciously.

"…No…" Ron said slowly, staring at my parchment the whole time.

"Yes, you are!" I said, as I watched both of them add something to their essay.

"…Maybe…" Harry said, checking that he had written the right thing on his parchment.

"Forget it. This is the only assignment I'm going to let you copy." I said as I went back to writing.

When I had finished my assignment, it was getting late.

"I'm gonna head up to bed. See ya tomorrow." I said, gathering up my things and heading to the girls staircase.

"Night." I heard them say as I left.

I threw my bag on my bed, and changed into my pajamas when I had gotten upstairs. I sat on my bed, and Kit-Kit came up and rubbed her head against my hand. I picked her up and pet her, looking around the room at the other girls. I knew their names, but I wasn't friends with them.

The girls' names were Padma and Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, and Hermione Granger. Lavender and Parvati were best friends. Hermione was the smartest one in the dorms, and none of the other girls liked her, because she was constantly correcting everyone. It was quite annoying.

Most of the girls were in bed, except for Hermione. She was reading a rather large book.

"Do you ever sleep?" I asked her. All week, she stayed up late, reading or doing homework. It seemed like she never slept.

"I sleep when I'm done reading." She said, like it was completely obvious.

"Done reading what? A chapter, or the whole book?" I asked, staring at the huge book she was holding.

"A few chapters or so." She said.

"Uh-huh." I said. "I'm gonna go to bed. Have fun reading."

"Night."

I climbed into bed, and fell asleep with Kit-Kit next to me.

A/N: Was it okay? Please review and tell me! No flames, as always. Until next chapter! pandagurl7


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I updated! Quickly, too. It's late, and I'm hyper, so a few things may seem a little odd, and I may have made a few mistakes that I didn't catch, but I think it's still a decent chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

I've decided to dedicate this chapter to **Edwardstruelove11**, for reviewing for every chapter. It makes me want to keep writing! Thanks!

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. Anything else, belongs to me, pandagurl7.

Chapter 7

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that Hermione was in exactly the same spot she was in when I fell asleep last night. She was even reading the same book. I was slightly frightened by her behavior. Sometimes, she acted as if she would die if she stopped reading, even for a second. Normally she would have gotten at least a little bit of sleep.

You could tell from the way she looked, she hadn't gotten much sleep for days. She had huge bags beneath her eyes, and she almost shut her eyes every five seconds. Then, they would snap open and try to focus on her book, but you could tell they weren't focused on anything. She looked ready to drop dead at any given moment.

"Umm…Hermione? Are you alright?" I asked her gently.

"Hmm…? Oh, I'm fine." She said, once she had figured out who was talking to her.

She was really out of it. She couldn't even focus on me when I was right in front of her speaking. I wondered just how much sleep she actually got this week.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem really tired. Are you sure you only read a few chapters last night?" I asked her, watching her all the while.

"I'm fine. I just got really into this book." She said.

"So into it, you forgot to sleep? That must be a really good book." I said.

"It is a good book. But, I suppose I should get some sleep…" She said, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"You can sleep after breakfast. We don't need you starving yourself too." I said, dragging her off the bed.

"I'm gonna change. You wait here. You should probably brush your hair or something." I said to Hermione as I picked up everything I needed.

Hermione nodded and picked a hairbrush up off of her bedside table. She sat back down on her bed and brushed her hair.

When I was done with my morning ritual, I told Hermione to stop brushing her hair. She obeyed. I suppose she was too tired to care that I was bossing her around. I grabbed her wrist, and marched her out of the girls' dormitories and into the common room. We left and started walking the corridors to the great hall.

When we got there, I led her over to an empty spot at the Gryffindor table, ignoring Harry and Ron for once as I sat with Hermione.

Once she was sitting and staring at the food in front of her, she seemed to wake up a little. She grabbed pancakes, toast, eggs, bacon, any breakfast food in her reach. As soon as she had everything she wanted, she started to shove it all in her mouth at once.

"Hermione, stop! Little bits at a time, that's right." I said as I supervised, making sure she ate, but didn't kill herself in the process.

"I'm _starving_!" She said while looking at her plate. (Already half empty, might I add.)

"I understand that, but you don't have to kill yourself to get a decent meal!" I said, laughing.

She laughed with me. We spent the rest of the meal getting to know each other a little better. Hermione wasn't half bad. Sure, it could be annoying when she got everything right, and when she corrected everyone, and when she read every hour of the day, but she's a decent person.

When we had finished eating, we started to walk out of the great hall together. Harry and Ron caught up to us when we were in the entrance hall.

"Hi guys." I said cheerfully as Harry and Ron fell into step beside me.

"Why'd you ignore us at breakfast?" Ron asked.

"I was talking to Hermione."

"Well, you could've at least said hi." Harry said.

"Well, I didn't. Get over it. It's one time I didn't say hi to you, you're going to live." I said as I continued walking next to Hermione, who was starting to look tired again.

"Still, you could have said hi." Harry pouted behind me.

I sighed and rolled my eyes at his childish behavior.

"Honestly Harry, sometimes you act like a five year old." I said.

"I'm allowed to! It's a free country." Harry said as he childishly stuck his tongue out at me.

"That's annoying!" I exclaimed, sticking my tongue out to show him my point.

"You look weird." Ron said, pointing at me and laughing.

"You _are _weird, but you don't see me broadcasting it." I said, slightly irritated with Ron.

"Well! You don't have to get snippy." Ron said, reminding me very much of my mother.

"You know, you remind me of my mother when you do that." I told him, voicing my thoughts.

"Humph!" He said, crossing his arms indignantly.

Everyone laughed, and then we realized we had reached the portrait hole. We gave the fat lady the password, and then we climbed through the portrait hole.

When we were all in the common room, I looked at Hermione, who looked about ready to fall over with exhaustion.

"Last night catching up with you, eh?" I asked.

"Yep."

"You better get up to bed, before you fall over. And don't even think about reading! I'll confiscate all of your books if you so much as touch one!" I called after her, as she had started walking away.

She turned around, nodded to let me know she heard, and continued walking over to the staircase. When I turned to look at the guys, they were staring at me with a weird look on their faces.

"What?" I asked slightly unnerved by their stares.

"You sounded like her mother just then." Harry explained, looking ready to burst into laughter.

I gave him a death glare, preventing him from going into a laughing fit.

"I hate you." I said, playfully hitting his arm, and going to sit on the couch.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, pretending to be hurt.

"We both know it doesn't hurt. You are such a baby!" I said, laughing at the expression on his face.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am…OWW!" Harry exclaimed, holding the side of his head.

Ron had just thrown a pillow at Harry's head, quite forcefully.

"Sorry, mate. But a guy can only take so much of that." Ron said to Harry.

"That doesn't mean you can throw things at my head!" Harry exclaimed.

"Anything to get you to shut up." Ron said.

Harry was glaring at Ron, but after a minute or two, he got bored of that, so he looked at me and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"How about we head to lunch? It's about that time."

"Already?"

"Apparently."

"Should you wake Hermione up?" Ron asked, nodding toward the girls' staircase.

"She had a big breakfast. I'm sure she'll be fine." I said as we walked through the portrait hole.

When we came back from lunch, I decided I was going to read my book. It would help pass the time until dinner.

"Wanna go outside?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Why?" I questioned.

"I dunno. We're bored. Going outside will give us something to do." Harry said as he shrugged.

"Okay, I guess we can go outside." I said.

We walked outside and found a tree by the lake. We all sat underneath it, and I pulled my book out. As I read, Ron pulled out his deck of exploding snap cards and he and Harry played for a while. We stayed this way for twenty minutes, before all three of us got bored.

"Let's go inside." I said.

"Okay." The boys quickly agreed.

Harry and Ron picked up the cards, and we all walked back up to the castle. There was still a fair amount of time until dinner, and none of us knew what to do. We decided to resort to homework. It was mainly me helping Harry and Ron with their half done assignments. I managed to help each of them finish two assignments, when I realized what time it was.

"It's time for dinner! I better wake Hermione up." I said as I ran up the stairs to see if Hermione was awake already.

Surprisingly, she was still sleeping. I shook her and practically screamed, "Wake up! It's time for dinner!" at her.

"Wha…?" She questioned groggily.

"I said, it's time for dinner!"

"Dinner?! I slept _that _long?" She questioned frantically.

"Yes. And to tell you the truth, you needed it." I said. She already looked much better. She wasn't practically falling over every other second.

"I'm hungry." She said out of the blue.

"I figured that. That's why I woke you up. Now, _come on_!" I said, dragging her out of bed.

"Wait!" She exclaimed, grabbing her hairbrush and dragging it through her wild brown hair.

"Hurry!" I said impatiently.

"I'm done. Let's go."

With that, we walked down the stairs and out of the common room. Harry and Ron caught up with us again, and we walked down to the great hall.

When dinner was over, I was tired. I decided I was going to turn in for the night. Hermione joined me, and we walked up the stairs together. We both changed and got ready for bed. When I was ready, I sat on my bed and Kit-Kit jumped into my lap.

"Hi, kitty. Haven't seen you all day." I said as I scratched her head gently.

"She's your cat, right?" Hermione asked, sitting next to me on my bed.

"Yep." I said, looking at Kit-Kit the whole time.

"She's so cute! What's her name?" Hermione asked.

"Kit-Kit."

"Kit-Kit?"

"What? I was seven for Christ's Sake!" I said, looking at Hermione's odd expression.

She laughed. "Well, I think I'm going to go sleep. Night." She said, scratching Kit-Kit's head one last time before turning in for the night.

"Night." I said back, before getting into my bed.

"I love it here, Kit." I said to Kit-Kit, who had already settled down next to me.

She meowed, as if to agree, and that was the last sound I heard all night.

A/N: Did you like it? Please let me know if I made any mistakes. It's pretty late, and I'm getting tired, so I might have missed something. Well, I suppose that's it. Until next chapter! pandagurl7


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hi everyone! It seems like forever since I updated. This chapter might have a few mistakes that I didn't catch. I'd really like to know if I made some mistakes, but no flames in the reviews.

I want to dedicate this chapter to my faithful reviewers, **Edwardstruelove11**, and **TheLimeWieldingNinja**. Your reviews are what keep me writing. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Michelle and Kit-Kit.

Chapter 8

The next morning, I woke up to Hermione shaking me.

"Wake up! It's time for breakfast!" She was yelling.

"Five more minutes!" I said, as I wrapped my blankets tighter around me.

"No! We have classes today!"

I groaned. 'Why do classes have to start back up today?' I thought as I got out of bed. I got dressed and walked down to the common room with Hermione. When we got there, Harry and Ron came bouncing up to us. Yes, _bouncing_. I don't know how they can be so happy this early in the morning. It's annoying.

"Quit bouncing! It's irritating." I said irritably, as Harry and Ron bounced in front of me.

"We're not _bouncing_. We're… hopping." Ron said slowly.

"_Hopping _is basically the same as _bouncing_." I said.

"Is not!" Harry said indignantly.

"Yes, it is. Now _stop_ that!" I said, watching them bounce in front of me.

"Fine! You don't have to yell!" Ron said.

"If yelling will get you to stop, then yes, I do have to yell." I said.

"Let's just go to breakfast." Hermione said, trying to stop the argument before it started.

"Fine. Anything to get them to quit that annoying _bouncing_." I said, emphasizing the word bouncing to annoy them.

"Hopping." Ron said from behind me.

"Same thing!" I said, raising my voice in irritation.

"Don't yell! People are staring." Harry said, pointing behind him to the remaining people in the common room.

"I really don't care." I said, indifferent to the stares from the rest of the Gryffindor population.

"Let's just go. I'm getting tired of this, and we're going to be late." Hermione said, dragging me behind her.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." I said, pulling her hand off of my wrist.

Harry and Ron followed us. The walk was quiet, but the great hall was loud. It seemed like bombs were going off every where. At least, it seemed that way to me. I wasn't used to all the noise this early in the morning yet. Even though I'd been there for over a week.

We sat at an open space at the table, and when I saw the food in front of me, I felt myself wake up a little. I grabbed all of my favorites, and shoved it all in my mouth at once.

"Don't eat so fast! You'll choke!" Hermione exclaimed, watching me eat.

"You sound like my mother." I mumbled through my mouthful of food.

"I just don't want you to choke." She said, eyeing my hands as I reached for some bacon.

"Relax. I won't choke. I swear." I said through a mouthful of bacon.

"That's reassuring." She said, watching me as I swallowed my mouthful of bacon.

"I know, right?" I said reaching for some toast.

She glared at me, and then she laughed. I laughed with her. Harry and Ron were giving us weird looks as they ate.

"What?" I asked them.

"Nothing." They said in unison.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes at them, and went back to my breakfast.

When breakfast was over, we all walked outside together. Today, we had our first flying lesson. All of us were excited. All of us, except Hermione. She would rather be in a classroom, reading a book, or something of that nature.

"Come on, Hermione! Be excited!" I said, bouncing along in front of her.

"Now I can see why their bouncing annoyed you so much." Hermione said, gesturing towards Harry and Ron, who were 'hopping' along next to me.

"Flying will be fun! Stop being so grouchy!" I said to Hermione.

"You're one to talk." She retorted, bringing up my attitude earlier.

"Well, I'm happy now. I'm not grouchy anymore. Unlike _someone _I know." I said back.

"Whatever." She said irritably.

We were finally there. Unfortunately, we had this lesson with the Slytherins. Malfoy sneered at us from his spot on the grass. We ignored him as we walked over to a spot on the grass with four brooms no one was using.

Madam Hooch came and settled the class down. Everyone was excited about flying. She explained what we were supposed to do to get the broom to come to us. On her command, the whole class started to yell, 'Up!' at their brooms. Harry got it immediately. I got it after three tries, Ron after five, and Hermione just couldn't get her broom to go up.

She finally got it when Madam Hooch told everyone to mount their brooms. She explained how we were supposed to mount and then fly. Neville Longbottom couldn't control his broom though, and he went flying into the air. Then, he fell. All the Gryffindors in the class were terrified for Neville, while the Slytherins laughed.

When he hit the ground, Madam Hooch was only a few feet away. She ran over, announced that he had sprained his wrist, and told everyone to stay in the area, and to stay away from the brooms. When she was gone, Malfoy was instantly talking to his friends.

"Look. Longbottom dropped this on his way down." He said, holding up Neville's remembral. "What should we do with it? Throw it in the forest?" He asked his friends.

"Give me the remembral, Malfoy." Harry said, stalking over to Malfoy and his gang.

"Why should I? He dropped it, I grabbed it. It's mine now." Malfoy said, waving the remembral in Harry's face.

"It doesn't belong to you. It belongs to Neville." Harry said, ignoring everything Malfoy had said.

"You want it?" Malfoy said as he grabbed his broom. "Come get it." He was suddenly in the air, waving the remembral down at Harry.

Harry didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed his broom and flew after him.

"Harry! Come back!" I shouted after him.

He ignored me. He flew up to Malfoy, and it looked as if they were talking. All of a sudden, Malfoy threw the remembral down towards the class. Harry was in a sudden nose dive after it. Everyone was holding their breath. He managed to snatch it just before it hit the ground, and pulled up quickly before _he_ hit the ground.

All the Gryffindors cheered. Just then, Professor McGonagall came out of the castle, and called Harry over. She didn't look mad like everyone expected her to. Instead, she looked… happy. No one knew why. She should have been mad that two first years broke the rules of the class.

She went over and spoke to Harry, then led him up to the castle. Harry looked back at us, looking unsure how to feel about the situation. We gave him a clueless look, and then he looked away. When Madam Hooch came back, we finished the lesson and headed up to the castle.

When we got to the castle, it was time for lunch. We sat at our spot at the table, looking around for Harry.

"Where is he?" I asked Ron and Hermione.

They shook their heads, clueless.

All of a sudden, I felt something come up behind me. Then a voice shouted, 'BOO!', and Hermione and I jumped. Then we heard raucous laughter, and when we looked behind us, we saw Harry doubled over, clutching his stomach, trying to breathe.

"That WASN'T funny!" I almost yelled at him.

"Yes it was! You should've seen your faces!" Harry said in between laughs.

Hermione and I glared at him, but after awhile, we couldn't help but laugh along.

"Hey, guess what!" Harry said after a few minutes.

"What?" Ron and I said.

"McGonagall put me on the Quidditch team!" Harry said excitedly.

"No way!"

"Seriously?"

"Yep. I have my first practice with the captain tomorrow." Harry said proudly.

"That's awesome!" I exclaimed hugging him.

"Good job, mate." Ron said, clapping him on the back.

When lunch was finished, we went to the rest of our afternoon classes. When classes were over, we had three assignments to finish. We walked to dinner together, and we ate, the whole time complaining about the homework we had.

"I can't believe we already have another potions essay." I said.

"Me neither. This one is bound to be hard. All of his assignments are." Ron said.

"I'm going to work on it after dinner." Hermione said.

"Don't work on it too long though. We don't need another episode like Saturday." I said, laughing at the expression on her face.

"I won't…"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"If you take too long, I'm going to come and get you." I said warningly.

"Alright. Fair enough." Hermione said shrugging.

When dinner was over, Hermione headed to the library, and Harry, Ron, and I went up to the common room. We played a few games of exploding snap, and after awhile we went off to bed. I changed and sat on my bed, petting Kit-Kit, watching the door to the dormitory. Finally, Hermione walked in, looking out of breath.

"What took you so long?"

"I lost track of time. But the good news is, I finished my essay." She said, holding out a piece of parchment.

"Good for you. Now, I would suggest trying to get some sleep."

"Good idea."

When she was ready, Hermione sat on her bed and faced me.

"You know, I'm glad we're friends." She said after a few minutes of silence.

"Me too. You're not half bad."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome."

"Let's get some sleep." I suggested after another three minutes of silence.

"Okay. Night."

"Night."

I fell asleep thinking about all of the great friends I'd made since Hogwarts came into my life, and thinking about everything that had happened that day.

A/N: Did you like it? Please let me know. This chapter was hard for me to write. Hope you liked it! Until next chapter! pandagurl7


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! On top of the long wait, I don't really think this chapter is all that great. I feel terrible. I didn't really know how I wanted to write this chapter, so it took me a long time to write. But, I finally wrote it. At least it's out of the way now. It's the longest chapter in my story, and I'm not very proud of it. Anyway, here's the chapter.

Disclaimer: I only own Michelle and Kit-Kit.

**Chapter 9**

The next day I woke up before anyone else, and did my morning ritual. When I was done, there was still a half hour or so until breakfast, so I decided to go down to the common room and read until it was time for breakfast.

When I got down to the common room, I sat on the couch and started reading. After fifteen minutes, Hermione came down from the girls dormitories.

"Hey." I said as she sat next to me.

"Hey. How long have you been down here?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"Okay."

It was silent again as Hermione pulled out her book and read with me. The peaceful silence was shattered when we were joined by Harry and Ron running down the stairs from the boys' dormitories.

"Could they be any louder?" Hermione asked me, looking extremely annoyed.

"Probably." I said, earning me an annoyed glance from Hermione.

"Hi, Michelle!" Ron shouted when he spotted me on the couch.

"Quiet down!"

"Well! I was just trying to be friendly."

"And wake up half the castle in the process?" I asked.

"No…" He said slowly.

"Well, you would have."

It was silent again. Only for about two minutes, though. The silence was interrupted by a loud statement from Harry.

"I'm hungry."

"Breakfast doesn't start for ten minutes." Hermione informed him.

He groaned and stared at the fire, looking extremely bored.

It was silent for the next five minutes, but after that, people started coming down from the dormitories so they could head to breakfast.

"Can we go now?" Harry asked, watching everyone go through the portrait hole.

"Fine. Let's go." I said.

The four of us managed to get out of the portrait hole without losing a limb, and started heading down to the great hall. We found an empty spot at the Gryffindor table and sat down. After a little while, the mail came. Hermione had the _Daily Prophet _delivered to her, and she always read it for most of breakfast. She found an article that Harry and Ron actually wanted to hear about for once.

"Hey! Listen to this; someone broke into Gringotts!" Hermione told them.

"What?" Harry, Ron and I asked incredulously.

"It was on July thirty-first. Nothing was stolen, though. The vault had been emptied earlier that day." Hermione informed us as she scanned through the article.

"That was my birthday! Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley that day. We went to Gringotts, and Hagrid 'emptied' a vault while we were there, if you could call taking a small package out emptying it. That could have been happening while I was there!" Harry said all of this quickly, and in one breath.

The rest of us were quiet as we thought about everything Harry had just told us. We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence, and walked to our classes without speaking.

When classes were over for the morning, we walked to the great hall together for lunch. When we got there, Fred and George walked up to where we were sitting. It turned out that they had come to congratulate Harry on making the Quidditch team.

Then someone no one wanted to see approached the table. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Malfoy stopped and said something to Harry. I was a little too far away to hear what they were saying, but I saw Crabbe and Goyle crack their knuckles menacingly. Then I heard Ron say, "I'm his second. Who's yours?"

I didn't know what was going on, but they left before I could try and figure out what they were talking about.

"What was that about?" I asked them.

"Malfoy challenged Harry to a wizards duel at midnight."

"Oh no. Did you say yes?"

"Of course."

"Umm… Ron?" Harry said.

"Yeah?"

"What's a second for?"

"A second is there to take over if you die." Ron said casually. Then he looked at Harry's face and quickly added, "You'll be fine. The most you and Malfoy can do is shoot sparks at each other."

"Excuse me."

The boys looked up from their food and at Hermione, who was looking at them disapprovingly.

"You shouldn't go wandering around the school at night. You'll get caught, and think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor."

"Well, it's none of your business what we do." Harry said.

"Now, if I could finish my lunch in _peace _it would be appreciated." Ron said, glaring at Hermione.

"Fine." She said indignantly.

The rest of the day went by without any more problems. Until around eleven o' clock.

I was trying to sleep, when someone shook me awake.

"What?" I asked irritably.

"I need your help."

"Hermione?"

"Yeah, now come on."

Hermione pulled me out of bed, and after a minute of arguing with her, I put on my bath robe and followed her down to the common room.

"I still don't see why you need my help." I grumbled as I sat in an armchair next to Hermione.

"They're more likely to listen to you than to me." Hermione said.

When she said, 'they' she meant Harry and Ron. She wanted me to help her talk them out of going to the duel. Hermione was sure they would stay if I asked them to. I was sure they would go no matter who talked to them.

After fifteen minutes of waiting, we heard footsteps coming from the direction of the boys' dormitories. Just when Harry and Ron were about to open the portrait hole, Hermione turned on a light and said, "I can't believe your going to do this, Harry. I almost told Percy. He would have stopped this. He's a prefect."

"Just go back to bed!" Ron snapped. Then he and Harry walked through the portrait hole. Hermione wasn't going to give up, though. She stood up, grabbed my arm, and walked through the portrait hole after them, hissing at Ron angrily all the while.

"You'll lose all the points I've gotten from McGonagall! _I _don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup."

"Go away!" Ron said, raising his voice.

"Alright, but I warned you." She said, but when she turned around to go through the portrait hole, dragging me with her, she found out the fat lady wasn't there.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked me shrilly.

"I don't know! You got us into this mess!" I said, mad I had been woken up for nothing.

"Well, what you do is your problem. We're late." Ron said.

"Shh!" Harry warned us. "I just heard something."

It was a snuffling noise, coming from the end of the corridor.

"Is it Mrs. Norris?" Ron asked fearfully.

We walked down the corridor to find that it was Neville, curled up in a ball. It turns out, his wrist was a lot worse than Madam Hooch thought, so he was in the hospital wing for an extra day.

He was asleep, but as soon as we got within a few feet from him, he woke up with a start.

"Thank goodness! I've been here for hours, I couldn't remember the password."

"The password's 'Pig snout' but the fat lady isn't there, so you can't get in." Ron said.

"Is your arm better?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. See?" Neville said as he held out his arm for Harry to look at.

"That's good. Look Neville, we're late for something. We've got to go. What're you guys going to do?" Harry addressed the last question to Hermione and I.

"We'll go along." Hermione said before I opened my mouth.

I glared at her. I was way too tired for this, but Hermione had left me with no choice. I had to go along.

"I'm going too! I don't want to be left alone!" Neville said quickly.

"Fine! But if any of you get us caught, you'll be dead tomorrow." Ron said threateningly.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Harry shushed her, and motioned for us to follow him. We walked quickly and soon, we were at the trophy room.

Malfoy wasn't there yet. We waited, and Harry pulled out his wand, in case any one came into the room.

"He's late. Maybe he's scared." Ron said hopefully.

Suddenly, we heard a shuffling noise in the next room. We all froze, and listened closely when we heard a voice.

"Sniff around; they might be lurking in a corner."

It was Filch. We all stared at each other, horror on our faces. Harry signaled for us to follow him, and he led us out of the room, just before Filch saw us.

"Follow me." Harry mouthed to us. We nodded, and we silently crept down a gallery full of suits of armor. We heard Filch coming closer, and I heard Neville squeak. He broke into a run, and he suddenly stumbled, grabbed Ron, and they went crashing into a suit of armor.

"RUN!" Harry yelled, and we ran as fast as we could, Harry in the lead. We didn't know where we were running; we just knew we had to get away.

We stopped and we came out in the charms corridor. Everyone was doubled over, panting.

"We need to head back to the tower." Ron said.

"Good idea." I said.

We started to walk down the corridor, when suddenly a door knob rattled, and Peeves came zooming out of a classroom. He saw us, and smiled the evilest smile I'd ever seen.

"Peeves, please stay quiet." Harry begged.

He cackled.

"Wandering around at night? Tut tut tut. You'll get caught."

"Not if you don't say anything."

"Should tell Filch." Peeves said, trying to sound saintly, but the evil glitter in his eyes said otherwise.

"Out of the way!" Ron said, swiping at Peeves.

Biggest mistake he's ever made.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" Peeves bellowed.

We ran as fast as we could, and soon we had reached a door at the end of the corridor. It was locked.

"This is the end! We're done for!" Ron said.

"Shut up! We'll get out of this!" I said, shaking him.

"Move!" Hermione said, pushing Harry out of the way.

"_Alohomora!_" The lock clicked, and Hermione pushed the door open. We all piled in as Filch ran round the corner. We were all breathing heavily as we listened to Filch asking Peeves where we went. Peeves flew off without answering.

Once Filch had left, we were able to relax. That didn't last very long.

Neville was tugging on Harry's sleeve and looking behind him with a terrified expression.

"What?" Harry asked him, annoyed.

We all turned around, and we quickly saw what.

It was a huge dog. It took up the whole corridor, and it had three heads. Six eyes were staring at us. The only reason we weren't dead already was because we had surprised it. It was quickly getting over that.

Harry grabbed the door knob, and we all ran out of the room. As we were running, I kept looking behind me to see if it had followed us, but the door was way too small for it to get through.

We finally made it back to the tower. I almost collapsed outside the portrait hole. Half asleep and angry is bad enough. Running for your life around a huge castle doesn't do anything to improve your mood.

If I wasn't awake when we left, I definitely was now. Harry quickly gave the fat lady the password, and we stumbled into the common room and sat down on the first thing we could find.

Hermione was angrily talking to Harry, but I didn't catch much of what she was saying. All I heard was, "It was standing on a trap door. It's _obviously _guarding something."

She stood up, glared at the boys, grabbed my arm, and said, "I hope you're pleased. We could have been killed, or worse, _expelled_. Now, we're going to bed."

She dragged me upstairs, and I collapsed on my bed. I definitely didn't expect anything like this to happen in my fist year.

A/N: Was it any good? I'd like to know. Remember, no flames! If you thought it was terrible, don't review. That's all I need to say. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Until next chapter! pandagurl7


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that this took so long. A lot has happened in the past month. I got six teeth pulled, my computer refused to turn on, school started. It is for that reason that I will most likely be updating every weekend if I update at all. I already have a project due, so I'll have to work on that too. I noticed that my faithful reviewers didn't review for the last chapter I wrote. Just so you know, I deleted the Authors Note I originally had as chapter nine, and I replaced it with a real chapter. You might want to read that before you read this. I would really appreciate reviews for this chapter, even though nothing much happens. And, to end my_ extremely _long Authors Note, I hope you enjoy chapter ten!

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize.

**Chapter 10**

The next morning, I walked down to the great hall with Harry and Ron. Hermione wasn't awake yet, so I decided it was safe to walk down with them. She was furious with them, so if she saw me with them, she would most likely kill me. She refused to speak to them, or even look in their direction. Harry and Ron seemed to see this as an advantage on their part. For me, it was just more difficult to hang around with any of my friends.

When we arrived at the great hall, the first thing we saw was Malfoy gawking at us from across the room. Harry and Ron looked at him cheerfully, thinking that last night had been a great adventure. They were completely ready to face the day. I was quite the opposite of the two boys. I got no sleep what so ever, therefore, I was extremely cranky, and having classes that morning did nothing to improve my mood.

When we got to the table, I was a little hesitant to sit down at first. When I looked around, there was still no sign of Hermione, so I decided it was safe to sit down with the guys.

"Last night was fun, wasn't it?" Harry asked Ron and I cheerfully.

"Yeah! If you think being woken up in the middle of the night, narrowly avoiding death, and getting no sleep on top of it is fun, then yes! I had a _fantastic_ time." I said sarcastically. I'm not pleasant when I don't get any sleep.

"No need to be so harsh!" Harry said defensively.

"Because of you, I didn't get any sleep last night! It's your fault I'm so cranky today!" I said angrily.

"Calm down! No need to get so mad!" Ron said, trying to defend Harry.

I glared at both of them, and then, once I was sure I'd gotten my message across, I started on my breakfast.

A few minutes later, the post came. Out of all the packages and letters, one caught everyone's eye. It was a long, skinny package, carried by six large owls. Harry was amazed when the package was dropped in front of him, with a letter following a few seconds later. Harry ripped open the letter, and Ron and I read it over his shoulder.

"Finally! I don't like the school's brooms. Way too old." Harry exclaimed after reading the letter.

The package contained Harry's new Nimbus Two Thousand. Being the Quidditch fanatic that I was, I perked up a little when I finished reading the letter. I was excited to see the new broom. Harry and Ron wanted to open the package before our first class, and away from the rest of the school. We finished our breakfast quickly, and we walked out of the great hall, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary.

When we were out in the entrance hall, we ran into the three people we wanted to see the least. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Malfoy grabbed the package out of Harry's hands and inspected it.

"This is a broom. You're in for it now, Potter." He said as he threw the broom back to Harry.

Ron couldn't stop himself. "It's not just _any _broom. It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you have? A Comet Two Sixty? They look flashy, but they aren't nearly as good as a Nimbus."

"How would you know, Weasley? You couldn't afford half the handle!" Malfoy snapped.

Then, as if from no where, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoys shoulder.

"We're not fighting, are we?" He asked us, looking at each of us in turn.

"Potter's got a broom, Professor." Malfoy said quickly, looking very smug.

"Oh, that's right. Professor McGonagall told me about the special circumstances. What model is it?" Professor Flitwick asked. Malfoy looked horrified.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand." Harry said, struggling to fight back his laughter at the look on Malfoys face. "And it's thanks to Malfoy that I've got it."

We headed up the stairs after that, trying not to laugh at Malfoys obvious confusion.

"That was completely true. If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall, I wouldn't have gotten my broom." Harry said as we laughed.

"So I suppose you think you're going to be rewarded every time you break the rules?" Suddenly, Hermione was behind us, glaring at Harry.

"I thought you refused to talk to us?" Harry said questioningly.

"Don't stop now. It's doing us so much good." Ron said.

I glared at them both, and then looked to Hermione. She looked very mad. She turned around and started walking away with her nose high in the air. I looked at the guys, then I left them and went with Hermione.

* * *

After dinner, Harry and Ron approached me cautiously.

"We're going upstairs to open his broom. Are you coming with us?" Ron asked me carefully, seeing as Hermione was only a few feet away.

"Yes. So long as you guys don't tell Hermione. If she found out, she would kill me." I whispered.

"We sware we won't tell a soul. Except Hermione." Harry said jokingly, his hand over his heart the whole time.

"Don't mock me! It's not nice!" I said as I slapped his hand, laughing at him.

"But seriously, we promise." Harry said when we had stopped laughing.

"Thanks. Let's go now. I'll tell Hermione that I have something I need to take care of."

I told Hermione that I needed to ask Professor McGonagall a question, and that I wouldn't be back for a little while. Lucky for me, she was going to the library to get some more books, and work on some homework.

When we got up to the common room, I let out a sigh of relief. Ron led the way to the boys' dormitories, and as soon as we got up there, Harry grabbed the package and opened it slowly. When it rolled out on the bedspread, we all couldn't believe how amazing it looked.

It was sleek and shiny, and had a mahogany handle. It had a long, neat tail with perfectly straight twigs, and the words Nimbus Two Thousand painted in gold at the end of the handle.

"Wow." Ron and I breathed in unison.

"It's the most amazing broom I've ever seen." I said, inspecting it.

"Yeah. Just imagine what flying on it will be like." Ron said, sighing dreamily.

"Well, I'll be able to find out. I have Quidditch practice tonight." Harry said happily.

At seven o' clock, Harry left the castle for Quidditch practice, and while he was gone, I helped Ron with homework in the common room. When Harry got back, we all said good night and headed upstairs. I was glad I could finally have a peaceful sleep.

"Hey, Hermione." I said, noticing she was sitting on her bed.

"Hey." She said absently, paying more attention to the book in her hands than what I was saying to her.

"Try and get some sleep, please?" I asked her as I started getting ready for bed.

"Alright." She said, marking her spot and closing the book.

"Night." I said as I settled down to sleep, Kit-Kit curled up on top of my pillow, just above my head.

"Night." She replied.

That night, I fell into the deepest sleep I'd ever been in.

A/N: Like it? Hate it? If you liked it, review. If you hated it, don't bother reviewing. I would really appreciate any constructive critisism. I haven't written anything in a while, so I may have made a few mistakes. I may update again this weekend, if I don't have any big events taking place. Thanks for reading! Until next time! pandagurl7


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hey guys! I finally got chapter eleven out for you. It's out a little later than I would have liked, but I could've waited until this weekend to put it out. But, I'm in a good mood, and I didn't have much homework, so I decided to write a chapter for you. It's getting late, and I'm tired, so I'm just going to leave this authors note at that, and let you read the chapter. As always, review, but NO FLAMES. Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Disclaimer: I only own Michelle and Kit-Kit.

**Chapter 11**

Before I knew it, it was Halloween, and I'd been at Hogwarts for two months. Hermione still refused to speak to Harry and Ron. We had tons of homework. The time passed quickly for all of these reasons. It was hard to spend time with all of my friends and do homework at the same time, so I was very busy.

On Halloween morning, I was surprised to find that it wasn't Hermione that had woken me up, but the smell of baking pumpkin. I quickly got out of bed and went through my morning routine. I decided to walk down to breakfast alone. I didn't want to have to deal with picking which friend I sat with.

When I got down to the great hall, I sat at the table and started eating anything I saw.

"Mind if I sit with you?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

I looked up to see Harry. I was surprised to see that Ron wasn't with him.

"Sure. Where's Ron?" I asked with a puzzled expression on my face.

"He bumped into Hermione in the common room. I figured it would be best to get out of there while I could." Harry explained through a mouthful of food.

"Ah. Good idea." I said.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. Then, Ron stomped up to us. He looked furious.

"I _hate_ her." He kept mumbling under his breath.

I decided it would be best to leave him alone, and avoid asking him why he hated her.

Hermione stomped in soon after, and once she was seated, we ate the rest of our meal in a tense silence.

Our first class was charms, and we were all ecstatic about today's lesson. We were _finally _learning how to make things fly! We'd all been dying to do that since Professor Flitwick demonstrated it to us.

Professor Flitwick put us into pairs to practice. I was paired with Harry, and Ron was paired with Hermione. It was extremely difficult to see who was more furious about this. Hermione hadn't spoken to them since Harry got his broom, so it was going to be difficult to work with Ron.

"Now don't forget the wrist movement you've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick squeaked from the front of the class. "Swish and flick, remember!"

"Okay, let's try this." I said pulling out my wand.

It was a lot more complicated then I thought it would be. I ended up hitting the desk next to the feather with my wand, and the feather that was _supposed _to be flying around the room went up in flames. Professor Flitwick had to come over and put the flame out for us.

Ron was at the table next to us, and he wasn't having much luck either.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_" He shouted as he waved his arms around in wide circles.

"You're doing it all wrong!" Hermione shouted impatiently. "It's Win-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa. You have to make it nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so great!" Ron snapped.

"Fine." Hermione rolled up her sleeves and recited the spell. The feather flew into the air and zoomed around the room.

"Well done, Miss Granger! Look class, Miss Grangers got it!" Professor Flitwick said excitedly.

Ron was in a terrible mood at the end of class.

"No wonder no one likes her. She's a nightmare!" Ron said to Harry and I as we left the room. Then I felt someone push past me, and when I looked up, I saw a familiar head of bushy hair.

"Now look what you've done! I can't believe you would say that!" I said angrily.

"It's just the truth!" Ron said defensively.

"No it's not! You just can't stand that she's better at magic than you!" I said angrily as I pushed my way through the crowd to find Hermione.

I found her headed to the girls' bathroom.

"Hermione! Wait up!" I shouted after her.

"What do you want? Why don't you go hang out with you're friends? The ones who aren't nightmares!" Hermione said as I caught up with her.

"You aren't a nightmare! You're my friend, too!" I said as I fell into step beside her.

"Then why did you agree with Ron when he said I was a nightmare?" She asked furiously.

"I never agreed with what he said! I yelled at him for saying that!" I said indignantly.

"Really?" She asked quietly.

"Really." I said sincerely.

She broke down crying once we had reached the girls bathroom.

"Shh. It's okay." I said. I gave her a reassuring hug to let her know that I would always be there for her, and she understood perfectly.

"Shouldn't you get to your next class?" She asked shakily once she had stopped crying.

"I'm already late, and I don't have an excuse. I might as well stay here with you until the next class. Besides, you need a friend right now." I said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Thanks. You're a great friend." She said, smiling back.

I stayed in the bathroom with her during that class. Then, she told me to leave for my next class, and that she needed some alone time. I left reluctantly.

I didn't see her for the rest of the afternoon, and I avoided Harry and Ron. I walked to the Halloween feast alone, and when I got there, what I saw amazed me.

Thousands of live bats were fluttering around the room, some up by the ceiling, others closer to the tables, almost making the candles in the pumpkins that were decorating the room blow out.

I sat down alone, and soon Harry and Ron were sitting across from me.

"Michelle, please talk to us." Harry said pleadingly.

"Yeah, we're really sorry…" Ron started, but Harry elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! Fine, _I'm _really sorry about what I said about Hermione earlier."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Hermione." I said, refusing to look at them.

"But…" Ron started.

"I don't want to hear it." I said coldly.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, when suddenly someone burst through the doors of the great hall.

It was Professor Quirrell. His turban was falling off, and he looked even more terrified than usual.

He ran down the length of the great hall and stopped by Professor Dumbledore's chair.

"Troll…in the dungeons!" He said, and then he fell onto the floor in a dead faint.

The hall burst into life. It had been deadly silent only a few seconds earlier. It took quite a few firecrackers from Professor Dumbledore's wand to silence everyone.

"Prefects, take your houses to the dormitories immediately!" He shouted.

Percy was instantly up and gathering the Gryffindors.

"Follow me! Stick together! No need to fear the troll!" He shouted over the din.

We walked after him out of the great hall, but then I suddenly remembered something. More like someone.

"Hermione!" I whispered to myself. I looked around to make sure no one would see me, then I crept out of line and down an empty corridor. I was sure no one was following me, until I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around and saw none other than Harry and Ron.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed angrily.

"What do you think _you're_ doing?" Harry challenged.

"I was _thinking _that I was going to go get Hermione. She doesn't know about the troll. She could be hurt!" I said worriedly.

"Well, we're going with you." Harry said, having made up his mind.

"But… fine. Just don't get us caught!" I said, frustrated that they wouldn't leave me alone.

We turned a corner at the end of the corridor and heard footsteps coming in our direction.

"It's Percy!" Ron said quietly as he pulled Harry and I behind a statue of a griffin.

But when we looked to see who it was, we saw Snape crossing the corridor.

"What is he doing here? I thought he was supposed to be with the other teachers in the dungeon." Harry whispered, puzzled.

"I dunno. Don't ask me questions I can't answer!" I whispered.

We crossed the corridor and followed after Snape's footsteps.

"He's headed to the third floor." Harry said, clearly confused.

"Wait. Can you smell something?" Ron asked.

Harry and I sniffed, and the stench that met my nose was the foulest thing I'd ever smelled. It smelled kind of like unwashed gym socks, and a dirty public toilet mixed into one.

Then, we heard a low grunting and shuffling footsteps. Ron pointed ahead of us, terrified at the sight that met his eyes.

At the end of the passage on the left, we saw a huge figure moving in our direction. We shrank against the wall on the opposite side, and when the figure got closer, we could inspect it at close range.

It was twelve feet tall, a dull gray color, and its body looked like a huge boulder with a coconut glued on top for a head. Its legs were short and as thick as a tree; its feet were flat, and they looked like they had little horns growing off of them. It was holding the largest wooden club I'd ever seen, and it dragged it along the floor because of the length of its arms.

The troll stepped up to a doorway, looked in, and seemed to decide that it wanted to explore that room. It walked slowly into the room, looking around itself the whole time.

"Quick! The keys in the lock. Let's lock it in." Harry said.

"Good idea." Ron agreed.

The boys walked cautiously across the corridor, and, when they were close enough, they jumped onto the door and locked it.

"Yes!" Harry whispered.

They both turned around and started walking down the corridor. But I wouldn't move from the spot I was in.

"Come on, Michelle! Let's go!" Ron said, turning around to look at me.

"You idiots! Don't you realize what room you just locked the troll in?" I said, my voice filled with fear.

They never got to answer, because as soon as they opened their mouths, we heard a high-pitched scream from inside the room they had just locked the troll in.

"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry said, his voice filled with terror.

"Hermione!" We all said together.

The boys ran to the door and unlocked it as fast as they could. The sight we saw was terrible.

Hermione was against the wall, screaming her lungs out, and the troll was quickly advancing on her, swinging its club menacingly the whole time.

"We've got to stop it! Confuse it!" Harry desperately said to Ron.

Ron grabbed the nearest thing he could find, which just so happened to be a tap the troll had knocked off the wall, and threw it at the wall opposite us.

The troll stopped a few feet away from Hermione and looked around, walking blindly through the room to try and find the source of the noise. While it was distracted, I ran over to Hermione.

"Are you okay?" I asked her worriedly.

She nodded her head, looking absolutely terrified. I sat next to her, and we both shook with fear as we watched the scene before us.

"Oy! Pea-brain!" Ron yelled from across the room as he threw a pipe at it.

The pipe didn't faze the troll, but the yell did. It turned towards Ron and that barely gave Harry enough time to run around it.

"Come on! Run!" Harry screamed at Hermione and I, but neither of us could move. We were petrified with fear.

All the screaming and the echoes that the chamber was creating drove the troll insane. It roared and headed towards Ron, who was closest.

I couldn't believe what I saw next.

Harry jumped onto the troll, and managed to get his arms around its neck. The troll didn't even notice, at first. But then, Harry's wand went up its nose, and even a troll would notice that.

It howled in pain and started to twist around, trying to get Harry's wand out of its nose. Harry was clinging on for dear life. It was only a matter of time before the troll ripped him off its back or caught him in a death blow with its club.

Hermione and I couldn't do anything. We were frozen to the floor, watching in horror the scene that was unfolding before us. Suddenly, Ron whipped out his wand and shouted the first thing he could think of.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

The club flew out of the trolls' hands and rose high into the air. It slowly flipped over and dropped with a sickening thud onto the trolls head. The troll swayed and fell to the ground. The whole room shook with the force of the impact.

I slowly and shakily got up and headed over to the fallen troll, Hermione right behind me. Harry got to his feet and slowly walked over, Ron close behind.

Hermione broke the silence. "It is… dead?" She asked shakily.

"I don't think so. Just knocked out." Harry said.

He bent down and pulled his wand out of the trolls' nose. There was something on it that looked like extremely lumpy gray glue.

"Disgusting." Harry muttered as he wiped it off on the trolls' pants.

A loud slamming and rapidly approaching footsteps brought us out of our reverie. We hadn't realized how loud we were being. A minute later, Professor McGonagall had stormed into the room, followed by Snape and Quirrell. Quirrell looked at the troll, and looked about ready to faint again. Snape bent over the troll, as if he was examining it.

None of us had ever seen McGonagall this angry. Her lips were totally white.

"What on earth were you thinking?" She asked us, cold fury in her voice.

Harry and I looked at Ron whose wand was still in the air.

"You're lucky you aren't dead right now. Why aren't you in your dormitories?" She asked us. She looked very frightening. I'd never been so scared. Even when the troll was conscious, I wasn't this scared.

I noticed that Snape quickly looked at Harry, then just as quickly looked away. Harry looked at the floor. I hoped Ron would put his wand down soon. He looked ridiculous.

Then, I heard I small voice ring out from behind me.

"Please, Professor. They were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had finally gathered enough courage to speak.

"I went looking for the troll because I… I thought I could take care of it on my own… you know, because I've read everything there is to know about them."

Ron dropped his wand, and we all stared at Hermione incredulously. How could Hermione _lie _to a _teacher_?

"I would be dead if they hadn't found me. Harry stuck his wand in its nose, Ron knocked it out with its club, and Michelle helped them. It was about to kill me when they got here."

We tried our hardest to look like this wasn't new to us.

"Well, in that case…" Professor McGonagall said, staring at us, "Miss Granger, how could you be so careless? Tackling a full grown mountain troll by yourself! Completely foolish."

Hermione hung her head and looked at her shoes in shame. None of us knew what to say. I knew Hermione was a good friend, but I never thought she would tell an outright lie to a teacher to get us out of trouble.

"Miss Granger, I'm going to take five points from Gryffindor for your foolishness. I'm very disappointed. If you're not hurt, you'd better head to the tower. The feast is being finished in the houses."

Hermione gave me one last look, and then she left.

Next, Professor McGonagall turned to us. My heart started beating rapidly.

"Well, I still think you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed. You can go now."

We walked out of the room as quickly as possible. I felt so much better getting away from the stink of the troll. We didn't talk to each other until we had gotten two floors up.

"We should have gotten more points." Ron mumbled.

"I think we should just be glad we got out alive." I said.

"That's true. But you didn't do anything!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Harry agreed.

"Ah, but it was _my _idea to go find her."

"True. Very true." Harry said.

"But did you fight the troll with us?" Ron asked me.

"No. I didn't do that, no. But I was _there _wasn't I?" I asked.

"…Yes…" Ron agreed reluctantly.

We walked in silence for a minute, and then Ron broke it.

"Good of Hermione to get us out of trouble like that." He said.

"She probably wouldn't have needed to be saved if you guys hadn't locked the troll in with her." I said.

We reached the portrait of the fat lady a few seconds later.

"Pig snout." We said in unison.

The common room was packed and the loudest it had ever been. Everyone was eating, except for Hermione. She was standing by the door, waiting for us. There was an awkward silence, but then the guys broke it.

"Thanks for that." They said quietly.

Hermione nodded, then we all went to get a plate of food. From then on, all of us were friends. The guys finally liked Hermione, and Hermione finally fit in with the rest of my friends. Everyone was happy.

When the feast was over, we went up to bed. I immediately collapsed on my bed and fell asleep.

A/N: Like it? Review, please! No flames. I'm sure you know the drill by now. :D Anyway, until next chapter! pandagurl7


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I'm so sorry that this took so long! It's not even a very good chapter. It's pretty short, too. I'm not going to give you excuses, even though I have quite a few. I'll try and update again sometime tomorrow. If I don't you can bug me all you want until I do. I hope that this chapter is alright, even though it's short. Please review and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, as much as I want to.

**Chapter 12**

November came quickly. All of the mountains surrounding the school became a frosty gray, and the lake looked as if it had turned to steel. The temperature had quickly dropped below freezing. You couldn't walk out of the school without hearing the crunch of frost underneath your feet. You could see Hagrid from the upstairs windows, defrosting the Quidditch field, bundled up in his large winter clothes.

The one good thing that came with November was that the Quidditch season started. The first match of the year was on Saturday, and it was Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It was an important game. If we won, we would move up to second place in the house championship.

Harry was extremely glad to have Hermione as a friend now. He had someone else to help him with homework, and she knew what she was doing. Hermione had given Harry a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_, and for once, he couldn't stop reading.

Hermione had become more relaxed when it came to breaking rules. Harry and Ron noticed that she seemed a lot nicer ever since they saved her from the troll.

It was Friday, the day before the first Quidditch match of the season, and we were all sitting in the courtyard during break, freezing to death. Hermione had found a spell that conjured up a bright blue fire that you could scoop into a jar and carry around with you. We had our backs to it, trying to stay warm, when we saw Snape crossing the yard toward us. It was quite obvious that he was limping, even from the distance we were at.

We all moved closer together to try and block the fire from view, but something about the looks on our faces made Snape limp over to us with a look of annoyance on his face. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed determined to find something that would get us into trouble anyway.

"What have you got, Potter?" Snape said, eyeing the book Harry was holding.

It was _Quidditch Through the Ages_, and Harry hesitantly held it out for him to see.

"Library books aren't aloud outside of the school. Five points from Gryffindor." Snape said, snatching the book from Harry.

"That wasn't nice." I said.

"That isn't even a rule. He just made it up." Harry protested angrily.

"Probably. What's wrong with his leg?" I asked curiously.

"I dunno, but I hope he's in a _lot _of pain." Ron said, looking after Snape angrily.

The common room was the noisiest place I had ever been in. It was almost impossible to hear yourself think. Later that night, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I sat by the window, trying to finish some homework before the Quidditch match the next day. Hermione and I were taking turns reading through the boys' homework. Hermione read through everything that I edited and made it a little bit better.

Harry was having a hard time staying in one place. He kept moving in his chair and looking at the portrait hole.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked him.

"I'm going to go ask Snape for my book back."

"Good luck with that." I said, watching him get up and walk to the portrait hole.

A little while later, Harry came running back into the common room, completely out of breath.

"Did you get it?" Ron asked eagerly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked a second later.

In a low whisper, Harry told us that he'd seen Snapes leg, and that it had been covered in blood, and looked like all the flesh had been torn away. He told us everything he'd heard, and what he thought it meant.

"He tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween! That's where he was headed when he ran past! I'd bet anything that he let the troll in to distract everyone, too!"

Hermione's eyes seemed to take up the rest of her face, they were so wide.

"He wouldn't do that! I know he's not the nicest person, but he wouldn't try to steal something that Dumbledore wanted to protect!"

"Hermione, do you really think that all teachers are saints or something?" Ron snapped at her.

"I think Harry's right. Who knows what Snape's capable of?" I agreed.

"But what does Snape want? What's that monster of a dog hiding?" Ron asked, puzzled.

I couldn't get that question out of my mind as I lay awake that night, trying to fall asleep.

The next morning was blindingly bright, thanks to the snow covering the grounds. The Great Hall was full of voices and the delicious smell of sausages.

"You _need_ to eat something." I said, trying to get Harry to eat what was on his plate.

"I'm not hungry." Harry insisted. He did look sick, but he needed to eat if he was going to be any good for the team.

"At least have some toast." Hermione pleaded, putting some in front of him.

"I don't want anything." Harry said, with a little more force this time.

"Harry, you need your strength. Seekers are the ones that get clobbered by the other team first." Seamus Finnigan said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Seamus. That _really_ helped." Harry said sarcastically.

A/N: Was it alright? Review and let me know! I feel really bad for this being so short. Please let me know if you liked it, or if I did something wrong, but no flames! I don't have time for those! Until tomorrow, hopefully. ~pandagurl7


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I'm sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I would have had a chapter written yesterday, but a few things came up that prevented that. I'm not particulary proud of this chapter. I can't write Qudditch scenes very well. This is my attempt at that. I hope it's alright. Here's the chapter! I hope it's somewhat enjoyable!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 13**

Around eleven o'clock the entire school was in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Almost everyone had binoculars. Binoculars are pretty useful, even though the seats are raised in the air. A lot of the action happens where it's difficult to see.

When Ron, Hermione and I got out into the stands, we sat next to Neville, Dean, and Seamus in the top row. To surprise Harry, we had all worked together to make a huge banner on one of the sheets that Scabbers had ruined. It said Potter for President in big lettering. Dean, who has to be the most amazing artist I have ever met, drew a huge Gryffindor lion underneath the writing, and Hermione had found this incredible charm that made the paint flash different colors.

Everyone was impatient for the match to start. It seemed like years that we were sitting in the stands, waiting for the teams to come out. Finally, we saw the Gryffindor team coming out onto the field, and everyone was cheering. I felt like my eardrums were going to burst from all of the noise, but it didn't matter at the moment.

Madam Hooch was standing in the middle of the field waiting for the teams. I could see the teams gathering around her in a ragged circle. After a minute or two, the teams lifted off. The game had begun.

Immediately, Angelina Johnson had the quaffle. Angelina passed it to Alicia Spinnet. Alicia attempted to pass it back to Angelina, but Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team's captain, grabbed it and shot down the field at top speed. He took a shot at the goal posts, but Oliver Wood caught it, and Gryffindor was in possession again. Katie Bell had the quaffle now, and she was headed down the field. Out of nowhere, I saw a bludger come and smash into the back of her head.

"OUCH, that had to hurt." For the first time since the beginning of the game, I noticed that Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley twins, was doing the commentary.

The quaffle was knocked out of Katie's hands and Adrian Pucey from the Slytherin team was bolting down the field with it. A bludger shot out of nowhere and blocked his way, and then Angelina had the quaffle again. The field was completely clear, and she took advantage of it. She was speeding down the field. She managed to dodge a speeding bludger. When she got to the other end, she shot. The Slytherin keeper dove and was dangerously close to catching it. Then, the keeper missed and Gryffindor scored.

Cheers filled the air from the Gryffindor side of the stands and moans and howls were coming from the Slytherin end.

"Move along. Budge up."

"Hey Hagrid!"

Hermione, Ron and I squeezed together in an attempt to make enough space for Hagrid to sit down.

"I bin watchin' from me hut." Hagrid announced, patting a large pair of binoculars hanging around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' a part of the crowd. No sign of the Snitch, eh?"

"No. Harry hasn't had much to do so far." Ron informed him.

"But he kept outta trouble. That's somethin'." Hagrid said as he raised his binoculars to watch Harry.

I looked up too, and watched the little dot that I knew was Harry. He was sitting in the air, looking around him. I saw that he was almost hit by a bludger, but he dodged it, and one of the Weasley twins went pelting after it.

I could barely hear Lee Jordan commentating, but what I did hear made my heart start racing.

Someone had seen the Snitch.

I saw Harry suddenly dive downward, evenly matched by the Slytherin seeker Terence Higgs. Everyone else in the air stopped what they were doing to watch the two seekers. It was easy to see, even from the stands, that Harry was faster than Higgs. He was stretching his arm out, and he almost caught it, when Marcus Flint flew in and purposely blocked Harry. Harry's broom was sent spiraling off course, and he was holding on for his life.

"Foul!" Was the call that went out on the Gryffindor side of the stands.

Madam Hooch flew over and was speaking to Flint, rather furiously from the looks of it, and in the confusion from the foul, the Snitch had disappeared.

Dean was yelling, "Send him off! Red card!"

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"Red card! In soccer, you're shown the red card and you're out of the game!" Dean explained furiously.

"But this isn't soccer." Ron reminded him carefully.

Hagrid was a strong supporter of Dean, though.

"They really oughta change the rules. Harry coulda bin knocked outta the air."

Lee Jordan clearly couldn't pick whose side he was on.

"So- after that disgusting bit of cheating,"

"Jordan!" Professor McGonagall growled in the background.

"I mean, after that revolting foul,"

"_Jordan, I'm warning you,_"

"All right, a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away without any trouble. We continue play, Gryffindor in possession."

I watched a bludger as it almost hit Harry. He dodged it easily. Suddenly, I saw his broom jerk forward. A few seconds later, it happened again. He looked as if he was going to head to the Gryffindor goal posts, but his broom wasn't letting him. He was zigzagging dangerously through the air.

No one seemed to notice that anything out of the ordinary was happening. The Slytherin team scored, and still no one noticed that Harry and his broom were rising higher and higher away from the pitch.

"I dunno what Harry thinks he's doing. If I didn't know better, I'd say he lost control of the broom, but he can't of." Hagrid said, almost to himself.

All at once, everyone in the stands was pointing at Harry. He was rolling over and over in the air, and his broom gave a sudden jerk. Everyone gasped. He had swung off of his broom, and was only just managing to hold on.

"What do you think happened to his broom?" I asked, my voice shaking with fear.

"I dunno. Nothin' can interfere with a broomstick except Dark magic, and no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand,"

Hermione suddenly seized Hagrid's binoculars, and she was frantically searching through the crowd with them.

"What are you doing?" Ron moaned, his face as gray as ash.

Hermione gasped. "I knew it. Look at Snape."

Ron and I attempted to grab the binoculars at the same time, but in the end, Ron got them. When he was done, I grabbed them and looked. I saw Snape in the middle of the crowd on the stands opposite us. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and he was muttering non-stop under his breath.

"I think he's jinxing the broom." Hermione whispered to Ron and I.

"What are we going to do about it?" I asked her.

"Leave it to me." She said.

Before anything could be done, Hermione was gone. I turned the binoculars onto Harry. His broom was vibrating wildly, and he was losing his grip. Everyone was on their feet, watching, horrified. The Weasleys flew up and tried to get Harry off of his broom safely, but every time they got near him, the broom jumped higher into the air. They decided to circle below him with the hopes of catching him if he fell. Marcus Flint grabbed the quaffle and scored five times, but no one noticed.

"Please hurry, Hermione." I heard Ron mutter.

Hermione had disappeared from sight, but in the next minute, Harry had gained control of his broom.

"Neville, it's okay, you can look!" I said excitedly to Neville. He had been crying into Hagrid's jacket during the whole episode.

Harry was headed towards the ground when everyone in the crowd saw him slam his hand to his mouth like he was going to be sick. He fell onto the ground on all fours, and coughed. Something gold fell out of his mouth and into his hand.

"I've got the Snitch!" He waved the Snitch above his head, and the game ended, all of the Gryffindors completely confused, but extremely happy.

Flint was howling, "He didn't catch it, he almost swallowed it!" For another twenty minutes after the match, but it didn't matter, because Harry hadn't broken any rules.

As soon as the match was over, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid and I escorted Harry to Hagrid's hut for tea.

"It was Snape. We all saw him. He was cursing your broomstick." Ron was explaining to Harry.

"Complete rubbish." Hagrid said. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

We all looked at each other, trying to decide what to tell Hagrid. Harry seemed to have made up his mind first, so he spoke.

"I found out something about him. He tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal what it's guarding. Whatever it is." Harry explained.

Hagrid dropped the huge teapot and it shattered.

"How did you find out about Fluffy?"

"_Fluffy?_" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, he's mine. Bought him off a chap I met in the pub las' year. I lent him to Dumbledore to help guard the,"

"The what?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Don't ask me anymore. That's top secret, that is." Hagrid said defensively.

"Snape's trying to _steal_ it." I pointed out.

"Rubbish." Hagrid repeated. "He's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the kind."

"So why did he try to kill Harry?" Hermione cried in a high-pitched voice.

The events of that afternoon had certainly changed her mind about teachers.

"I know all about jinxes Hagrid! You have to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all! I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' ya, yer wrong! I dunno why Harry's broom acted like that, but there's no way Snape would try an' kill a student! Now listen carefully, all of yeh Yer meddlin' in things that don't involve yeh. You forget the dog, and what it was guardin', that's fer Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel to sort out,"

"Aha! So someone named Nicolas Flamel is involved, is there?" Harry asked.

Hagrid looked about ready to kill himself.

A/N: Was it alright? I would appreciate reviews! Anything but flames, as usual. If everyone really wants another chapter soon, tell me and I will definitely make an effort to have another chapter written for tomorrow. If I don't then I'm sorry! I'm a very lazy person. Until next chapter! ~pandagurl7


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Okay, I lied when I said I'd make an effort to write another chapter. I am extremely lazy, and luckily I wrote a chapter for my other story Why Me? today and that inspired me to write another chapter for this story too. Please read and review. No flames, even if you're mad at me for not updating. I'm going to dedicate this chapter to **supercalifragilisticexplalidoc** for reviewing every chapter of this story. It encourages me to write and not stop halfway through a new chapter. Anyway, here is the long awaited fourteenth chapter.

Disclaimer: I only own Michelle and Kit-Kit.

**Chapter 14**

Christmas was on the way. You could feel the excitement in the air when the school woke one morning to several feet of snow. The lake froze over and the Weasley twins bewitched some snowballs to follow Professor Quirrell around, and they were constantly bouncing off of his turban. They got in trouble for that, of course. Only a few owls made it to the school with mail, and they had to be nursed back to health before they were aloud to leave again.

The holidays seem so far away, and everyone is impatient. It felt like you were walking through the Arctic when you walked the corridors to get to classes. It was always a relief to get to the common room or the Great Hall because of the fires there. Professor Snapes classes were the worst. The dungeons were so cold that I lost feeling in my toes and fingers a few times, and it was next to impossible to write anything. I considered taking gloves a few times.

"I feel so sorry for those who have to stay here for Christmas because they're not wanted at home." Malfoy said one potions class, being the jerk he is. He was looking at Harry the whole time, of course. Who else?

Malfoy had tried to get everyone laughing at Harry by saying that he'd be replaced by a wide-mouthed tree frog as Seeker. No one found this funny, and it took him a while to realize that everyone was still extremely impressed that Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick during the last Quidditch match. So he went back to teasing Harry about his family.

Harry and Ron were both staying at Hogwarts for the holidays because Ron's parents were visiting Charlie in Romania. Harry was actually excited about this Christmas away from home. I wasn't sure if I was staying or leaving yet.

When we left the dungeons, we found that a huge fir tree was blocking our way down the corridor. It was puffing, and it had feet. That's what gave Hagrid away.

"Hey, Hagrid, want some help?" Ron asked, sticking his head into the tree to see Hagrid.

"I'm all right. Thanks for the offer, Ron." The Hagrid-tree puffed.

"You know Hagrid, if I couldn't hear you from behind that tree, I might have thought you _were _the tree." I said jokingly.

"Well-," Hagrid was cut off.

"Would you mind getting out of the way?" Malfoy's cold voice drawled from behind us. "Trying to earn money, Weasley? Aspiring to be gamekeeper when you leave Hogwarts, I guess- that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to where you live."

Ron dove on Malfoy just as Snape was coming down the stairs. Of all the rotten luck.

"WEASLEY!"

I flinched at Professor Snape's grating voice.

Ron let go of Malfoy abruptly.

"Malfoy was makin' fun of his family, Professor. He was provoked." Hagrid's hairy face was sticking out from the branches of the tree.

"Be that as it may, fighting is against the rules, Hagrid." Snape said icily. "Five points from Gryffindor, and be grateful it isn't more. Now move along, all of you."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all shoved past the tree, knocking needles everywhere and smirking at the mess.

"I hate them both. Malfoy and Snape." Harry said through gritted teeth.

"You can't forget Crabbe and Goyle." I reminded him.

"Them too." Harry amended himself.

"Cheer up. It's almost Christmas. Why don't ya come with me an' see the Great Hall? It looks a treat." Hagrid suggested cheerily.

We followed him to the Great Hall, and it looked amazing. Like something out of a dream. Holly and mistletoe hung around the walls, and twelve towering Christmas trees were standing around the room. Some glistened with icicles, others glittered with hundreds of candles.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were standing in the middle of this dream-like scene, busying themselves with Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid, would you put the last tree in the far corner?"

"How many days left till your holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Only one." I answered cheerily.

"Oh, that reminds me. Shouldn't we be in the library right now? There's only a half hour until lunch." Hermione reminded us.

"Oh yeah." Ron and I said in unison. We'd totally forgotten.

"The library? Just before the holidays?" Hagrid asked curiously, following us out of the hall.

"We're not working. We've been trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is ever since you mentioned him." Harry informed him brightly.

"You _what_? I told yeh to drop it. It has nothin' to do with what the dogs' guardin'." Hagrid said, shocked.

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flammel is." Hermione told him.

"Yeah, we've been curious." I said,

"If you'd like to tell us who he is and save us the trouble of searching in the library, it would be appreciated." Harry said.

"Yeah, we must've searched through a hundred books so far, and we can't find him anywhere." I said, pouting.

"Just give us a hint. I know I've read his name somewhere." Harry said to Hagrid.

"I'm not sayin' anythin'." Hagrid said stubbornly.

"Guess we'll just have to find out ourselves, then." Ron said.

We had been searching for a long time. It was difficult to find him though, because we had no clue what he could've done to get himself into a book. We knew it was vital we find out who he was though, because how else would we find out what Snape had tried to steal? He wasn't in all of the big books of famous wizards. The library had tens of thousands of books though; I don't think we even scratched the surface.

Hermione took out a list she had made, Ron went down a row of books and started pulling them from the shelves at random, and I followed Harry to the Restricted Section. Unfortunately, we both knew we needed a note to look at any of the books, and we both knew that getting one was impossible.

"What are you two looking for?" Madame Pince asked, glaring at us over her glasses.

"Nothing." We both said quickly.

Suddenly, she pulled a feather duster out and was shooing us from the section with it.

"Then you'd better get out! Go on- out!" She said.

We had decided a long time ago not to ask Madame Pince about Flamel. We were positive she could tell us, but the risk that Snape would find out what we were doing was too high.

We waited outside in the corridor to see if the others had found anything, but there wasn't much hope. We'd been searching for him forever, and we still hadn't found anything. We hadn't had much time to search though, just the occasional time between classes, so what we needed was a nice long search. Without Madame Pince breathing down our necks.

Five minutes later, we were joined by Ron and Hermione, both of them shaking their heads. We headed off to lunch, disappointment thickening the air around us.

"You will keep looking while I'm gone, right?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Of course." I reassured her. I had decided I was staying.

"Send me an owl if you find anything." Hermione said.

"You could ask your parents if they knew anything. That would be perfectly safe." Ron said.

"Very safe, seeing as they're dentists." Hermione said.

Once the holidays started, I rarely thought of Nicolas Flamel. The common room was unusually empty, and I had the dormitory all to myself. None of the other girls had stayed. Harry, Ron and I would sit in the good armchairs by the fire and eat by the hour. We ate anything we could spear on a toasting fork. Plotting ways to get Malfoy expelled was fun too, even though most of the ideas were very far-fetched.

One challenge was trying to play wizards chess. There were still some things that Harry didn't know, and Ron tried to teach him. Ron had no trouble with his pieces; he told them what to do, and they immediately obeyed. Harry wasn't so lucky. He wasn't very good yet, and he was using Seamus Finnigan's chessmen, and they didn't trust him at all. It was quite funny, because they were all shouting different pieces of advice at him, and it confused him so much. One piece shouted, "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send _him_, we can afford to lose _him_."

On Christmas Eve, we all went to bed content. I woke up the next morning, and there was a pile of presents at the end of my bed. I went through them, and I was surprised to see that one was from Ron's parents. I opened it, and it was a purple sweater, and a box of chocolate. I tried the chocolate, and it was really good. I went down to the common room, bringing the sweater and the chocolate with me. I set the presents down and went up to the boys dormitories. When I got there, Fred and George were forcing a sweater over Percy's head. I was suddenly glad that I didn't bring mine.

Before I got to the top of the stairs, Fred's voice carried up from the common room.

"Who got the sweater and isn't wearing it?"

I ran down the stairs. "That would be me."

"Put it on then. If you got one, you must be family." George said.

I quickly took the sweater and put it on, and it was really warm.

"This is warm." I said, wrapping my arms around myself.

"Yep." Fred and George said in unison.

Dinner was amazing. I felt like I was in heaven. There were a hundred fat, roasted turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, boats of thick gravy and cranberry sauce. There were also stacks of wizard crackers every few feet down the table. I watched Harry pull one with Fred after I had pulled one with George, and it went off like a blast from a cannon and we were all engulfed in a haze of blue smoke, while a rear admirals hat and some white mice fell from the inside of the cracker.

Up at the High Table, Dumbledore was now wearing a flowered bonnet and laughing at a joke that Professor Flitwick had just read him.

Flaming Christmas puddings came after the turkey, and Percy almost broke his teeth on a silver sickle buried in his slice.

Harry and I could see Hagrid getting redder and redder with every glass of wine he had, until, finally, he kissed Professor McGonagall on the cheek, and to our astonishment, she giggled and blushed. Her top hat was lopsided.

After dinner, Harry, the Weasley's and I went out to the grounds and had furious snowball wars. When we finally felt like our arms were going to break off, we went upstairs and sat by the fire. Harry broke in his new chess set spectacularly. It was very amusing watching him lose to Ron. Percy was trying to help him. Harry thinks that that's why he lost.

After a meal of sandwiches and cake, we were so tired that all we could do was watch Percy chase Fred and George around the tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

Finally, everyone headed up to bed. I fell asleep quickly, remembering everything that had happened. It had to be the best Christmas of my life.

The next morning, Harry was telling Ron and I about this room with a mirror in it that showed him his parents.

"You could've woken me up." Ron grumbled.

"You can come tonight. I'm going back." Harry said.

"I wanna see!" I whined, sounding very much like a two year old.

"You can see tomorrow night. I promise." Harry said.

"Come on, Harry eat something. Why aren't you eating?" Ron suddenly asked, sounding concerned.

"It's a shame you didn't find anything on Flamel." I said.

Suddenly, Harry's face looked very different.

"Are you all right? You look odd." Ron said to Harry.

I went to sleep that night, thinking about how Ron got to see Harry's parents and I didn't. I finally fell asleep, thinking about tomorrow night, when it would be my turn to go with Harry. I also thought about the invisibility cloak Harry and Ron told me about. I needed to know about that before Harry told his story, considering the fact that he had used it to sneak out without getting caught.

The next morning, Harry told me that I couldn't go with him to see his family, because the mirror wouldn't show them to anyone but him. We were sitting in the common room, extremely bored.

"Wanna play chess, Harry?" Ron asked hopefully.

"No."

"Why don't we visit Hagrid?" I suggested.

"No. You guys go ahead…"

"I know you're thinking about that mirror, Harry. Don't go back tonight." Ron said.

"Why not?"

"I've just got a bad feeling about it." Ron said.

"What if you get caught? What if you knock something over? What if Snape, Mrs. Norris, or Filch runs into you? You don't have to be visible to get caught, Harry." I said, agreeing with Ron.

"You both sound like Hermione." Harry said indignantly.

"I'm dead serious, Harry. Don't go." Ron said.

Harry told us the next morning about what the mirror actually did. He said that Dumbledore had explained to him that the mirror shows the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts.

"I wanna see it." I said, upset that I was the only one who hadn't seen it.

"Dumbledore said it's being moved to a new home today, and he told me not to look for it again." Harry told me.

"I still wanna see it." I mumbled, looking down at my breakfast.

"Don't be upset. You weren't missing much of anything." Ron told me reassuringly, with his arm around my shoulders.

"Fine." I said, and I went back to eating my food.

I went to bed that night thinking about how this had to be the best vacation I ever had.

A/N: Was it worth the wait? I'm sorry my laziness got in the way. Please review and tell me what you think. The more reviews I get, the more I might consider writing another chapter over my Spring Break. Thanks again! ~pandagurl7


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I'm really sorry that this has taken so long. I actually have stuff to do this summer! I know that isn't an excuse, but it was worth a shot. Anyway, I just want to say that if you like this story, you should check out my other ones, Life Can Be So Interesting and Why Me? I felt the need to advertise. I hope you enjoy this chapter that took me so long to get out to you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor will I ever. No matter how much I may want to.

**Chapter 15**

When Hermione returned, the day before term started, she was very disappointed that we didn't find anything on Flamel while she was away. By now, we had little hope left that we would ever find anything about him in a library book. Harry was still sure that he had read the name somewhere, though. When term started, we had to go back to skimming through books for ten minutes during breaks, and Harry had even less time because of Quidditch practice.

Ron, Hermione and I were sitting in the common room, playing chess. Chess was not Hermione's game. She lost all the time, which Harry and Ron thought was a good thing for her. The portrait hole opened, and Harry was walking towards us quickly. He sat on the couch next to Ron, who was deep in thought.

"Don't talk right now, I need to concentrate." Ron said.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked Harry. His face looked terrible.

"Snape's going to be the referee at the next Quidditch match." He told me.

"Don't play." Hermione and I said at once.

"Pretend you're sick." Ron suggested.

"Pretend to break your leg." Hermione said.

"_Really _break your leg." Ron said.

"I can't. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play. There's only one Seeker." Harry explained.

Suddenly, Neville toppled into the common room. He always had trouble coming through the portrait hole, but how he had even made it up to the portrait hole this time was what had people wondering. His legs had been stuck together by the Leg-Locker curse. He must have looked ridiculous bunny-hopping all the way up to the tower.

Everyone dropped what they were doing and fell into hysterics, except for Hermione, who helped Neville by performing the countercurse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he leapt up to his feet, trembling.

"What happened?" I asked Neville as Hermione lead him over to sit with us.

"It was Malfoy. I ran into him outside the library. He said he'd been waiting for someone to practice that on." Neville told us shakily.

"Report him to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged him.

"I don't want any trouble." Neville mumbled while shaking his head slowly.

"You need to stand up for yourself!" Ron said.

"Yeah, Neville! He's used to walking all over everyone. You shouldn't just lie on the ground and make it easier for him!" I told Neville encouragingly.

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be a Gryffindor. Malfoy's already done that." Neville told Ron and I.

I watched as Harry reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a chocolate frog. He handed it to Neville, who looked ready to cry. I felt so bad for him.

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy. The Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor didn't it? And where's Malfoy? Stinking Slytherin." Harry said to Neville.

Neville gave Harry a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog.

"Thanks, Harry… I think I'll head up to bed… do you want the card? You collect them, right?"

As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the card.

"It's Dumbledore again. He was the first card I ever-" Harry suddenly stopped half way through his sentence.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked him.

He looked up from the card, which he had been staring at.

"I found him! I found Flamel! I _told _you I'd read the name somewhere before! Listen to this- Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, _and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel!_" Harry said excitedly.

Hermione was on her feet in an instant. She hadn't looked this excited since we had gotten the marks on our first homework assignment.

"Stay there!" She commanded us, then she ran up the stairs to the girls dorms. Harry, Ron and I barely had time to look at each other before she got back, carrying the heavy book she had been reading earlier in the year. It was actually a really old book.

"I never would have thought to look here! I got this from the library weeks ago for some light reading."

"Light? You were up reading it all night!" I said, calling back the incident from a few weeks ago.

Hermione told me to be quiet until she had found what she was looking for. She frantically flipped through the pages, muttering incoherently to herself. Finally she found what she had been looking for.

"I knew it!" She yelled repeatedly.

"Are we allowed to speak now?" Ron asked her grumpily. Hermione was ignoring him.

"Nicolas Flamel. The only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!" She stage-whispered dramatically.

This didn't have quite the effect she had been wanting to produce.

"The what?" Ron and Harry asked. I decided not to make a comment on my lack of knowledge in this area.

"_Honestly_, don't you three read?" Hermione said, exasperated. "Read that there."

She pushed the book towards us and we read. It said that the Sorcerers Stone could turn any metal to pure gold and that it produced the Elixir of Life, which made people immortal. It went on to say that the only stone in existence was property of Nicolas Flamel, who was six hundred and sixty-five.

"See?" Hermione said after we were done reading. "The dog must be guarding the stone! I bet Flamel asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him because they're friends and he knew someone was after it! That must be why he wanted it moved out of Gringotts!"

"No wonder Snape's after it! It makes any metal gold and stops you from dying! Anyone would want it." Harry said.

"And no wonder Flamel wasn't in _Study of Recent Developments of Wizardry._ He's not really recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five." Ron said.

The next day, Harry told Ron, Hermione and I that he was going to play in the Quidditch match. He didn't want the Slytherins to win.

"It'll really wipe the smiled off of their faces when we win." Harry said confidently.

"As long as you aren't being wiped off the field." Hermione said, and I agreed with her.

When the match finally came around, Hermione and I weren't so sure that Harry would live to see the end of the day. Ron wouldn't say so, but you could tell he felt the same. After we left Harry, we went and found a place in the stands next to Neville, who just didn't seem to understand why we looked so worried. Or why we had our wands at the ready during a Quidditch match. We had been practicing the Leg-Locker curse, just in case Snape tried anything.

"Don't forget, it's _Locomotor Mortis_." Hermione reminded us yet again.

"We know. Don't worry." I reassured her.

When the teams came marching onto the field, Ron and I looked at Snape. He didn't look very pleased.

"I've never seen Snape so mean looking." I said to Ron and Hermione.

Ron was about to agree, when someone poked him on the back of the head.

"Ouch!"

It was Malfoy. Who else?

"Sorry, Weasley. Didn't see you there." He said, smirking.

Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.

"I wonder how long Potter can stay on his broomstick. Anyone care to make a bet? How about you Weasley?"

Ron wasn't listening. Snape had just given Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had knocked a bludger towards him. Hermione had all her fingers crossed in her lap and was squinting at Harry, while I was leaning forward, watching everything very carefully.

After awhile, I felt Neville turn around and heard him say, "I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy."

Then I heard loud laughter and I said, "Good job, Neville." Trying to encourage him while paying attention to the game.

Harry just went into an amazing dive, headed straight for Snape. I couldn't hear anything because of the cheering. Harry was headed to the ground so fast that he was nothing but a blur.

Out of nowhere, Ron turned around and tackled Malfoy to the ground. Neville got it into his head that it would be a good idea to help him, so Neville was wrestling with Crabbe and Goyle.

All I could see was Harry streaking past Snape and reaching the ground while raising his arm in the air triumphantly. Hermione was dancing in her seat and hugging Parvati Patil, shouting "We won! We're in the lead!"

Ron was still wrestling with Malfoy, and I was thinking about the record Harry must have set. The snitch caught within five minutes. I couldn't believe it was over.

Soon, the Gryffindors were spilling into the field. They lifted Harry onto their shoulders. Ron, Hermione and I were cheering, Ron sporting a heavy nosebleed.

"Harry, where have you been, we've been so worried!" Hermione said later after we hadn't seen him for an hour.

"We won! We won! We won! I gave Malfoy a black eye and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single handed! He's still out, but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be alright. Talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole a few cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Never mind that." Harry said. He had looked quite distracted all through Ron's speech. "I need to tell you guys something."

"We were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it! He said something about Quirrell's hocus pocus. I bet there are things other than Fluffy guarding the stone, loads of enchantments probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to go through,"

"So you're saying that the stone is only safe if Quirrell stands up to Snape?" I asked him in alarm.

"It'll be gone by next week." Ron said.

A/N: If you liked it, review! And check out my other stories and review them. Remember, no flames, constuctive critisism is allowed. Until whenver I get the next chapter up! ~pandagurl7


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Okay, so I didn't get this up as soon as I would like to, but sooner than I normally would. I figured I should post it now because I'm going to be busy for the next few days. I don't think this chapter is as good as it could have been, but it's better than nothing right? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything you recognize.

Chapter 16

Over the next few weeks, we were all nicer to Professor Quirrell. Harry and I gave him encouraging smiles every time we passed him and Ron was telling people off for making fun of him. Unfortunately, Hermione was too busy with exam prep to pay any attention to Quirrell.

"I should have started studying sooner! The exams are so important to our grades! I'm going to fail!" Hermione said one night when we were in the common room.

"Hermione, the exams are in a month. That's plenty of time to study. And besides, you're the smartest person in our grade. I'm sure you pass with excellent grades." I said, trying to calm her down.

"I just know I'm going to fail!" Hermione said, not paying attention to any of the words that had just come out of my mouth.

I rolled my eyes and continued reading my book.

The next day, Harry and I passed Quirrell on our way to breakfast. He looked even paler and thinner than he ever had. Snape was still in a terrible mood as well. His classes weren't getting any better.

Every time we were on the third floor corridor, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I checked on Fluffy. It had become a habit. We wanted to make sure no one had gotten by him to the trap door.

On top of all of this, the teachers seemed to agree with Hermione about studying. We had mountains of homework to do every night, which made things hard for all of us. Harry, Ron and I decided to go to the library to try and finish some three foot long essays that were due soon. Hermione was deep into her studying zone in the common room, so we decided to go without her.

When we got there, we threw our bags onto the nearest table and sat down.

"So, what essay do you guys wanna do first?" I asked them.

"How about the charms one? It looks easiest." Ron said.

"Alright. You okay with that Harry?" I asked him.

"Sure. Why not." Harry said.

We all pulled out some parchment and our quills when we heard a loud bang from the aisle nearest to us. I jumped and Harry and Ron turned to see what it was. When I turned, I saw Hagrid leaving the aisle, looking a little like someone who was just caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

"Hey Hagrid! What are you doing here?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, nothin'. Listen, I have ta go now. See you lot later." He said as he turned and quickly left the library.

"What was he doing in that aisle?" I asked Harry and Ron.

"I dunno. I'll go and see if he left anything behind." Ron said as he got up from the table and walked between the rows of books.

When he came back, he was holding a pile of books in his arms. He dumped them onto the table and sat down. A word on the cover of one of the books caught my eye. Dragon.

"These are all books about how to hatch a dragon egg!" Ron said.

"Why does Hagrid want to read about this? Does he have a dragon egg?" I asked, my voice rising with alarm.

"Shhh! I don't know. What I do know is that Hagrid said that he's always wanted a dragon." Harry told Ron and I.

We packed up our stuff and went down to Hagrids. We needed to see if our suspicions were correct. When we got there, I knocked on the door.

"I'm a busy righ' now. Come back later." Hagrid said as he opened the door. When he saw who it was he said, "Oh. It's you lot. Come in, come in."

His cabin was stifling hot. It was a really warm day and all of the windows were closed and curtained. There was a fire burning in the fire place, and a kettle was hanging over the fire. We sat at the table and Hagrid offered us some food, which we politely refused. Harry had been wanting to ask Hagrid if the thing Fluffy was guarding was the Sorcerer's Stone, and now was the perfect chance.

"Hagrid, what is Fluffy guarding?"

"I don' know. And if I did, I wouldn't tell yeh." Hagrid snapped.

"It's the Sorcerer's Stone, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"I told yeh, I don' know!" Hagrid said.

"But you _do _know, Hagrid. You know everything that goes on here. We just want to know for sure that the stone is here. And who Dumbledore possibly could have trusted to guard it, besides you." I said, trying to be flattering, but not quite sure if it worked.

It seemed to satisfy Hagrid.

"Well, I s'pose I can tell yeh. It wouldn' hurt. Professor Dumbledore borrowed Fluffy from me to guard the stone. Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Quirrell, Professor Dumbledore himself and Professor Snape all put enchantments in place to guard it."

"Wait, did you say Snape was one of the professors who was chosen to protect the stone?" Harry said disbelievingly.

"Yeah. I told you, Snape is tryin' ter protect the stone. He wouldn' go an' steal it." Hagrid said.

"Hagrid, what is that?" Ron suddenly asked, pointing at the fire place.

"Oh, tha'. Well, that's, er…"

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" Ron asked, walking close to the fire to get a better look at the egg that was in the heart of it.

"Won it. Las' night. I was in the village an' I got into a game of cards with a stranger. He seemed quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest." Hagrid said.

"How are you going to take care of it once it's hatched?" I asked him, moving closer to the fire to get a better look at the egg.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'." He explained.

Hagrid pulled a book out from under his pillow on his bed and told us all about how to care for a dragon.

"That there is a Norwegian Ridgeback. Rare, they are." He finished, looking very pleased with himself.

"But Hagrid, your house is made of _wood_." I said.

He just continued to stoke the fire, humming like he didn't have a care in the world.

We all had something new to worry about now. What would happen if Hagrid got caught harboring an illegal dragon in his hut. Hermione was becoming a bit of a problem too. She had started making study schedules for Harry and Ron, which was driving them crazy. What made them even madder was that I didn't have a study schedule because Hermione believed me every time I said I was going to the library to study. I did study at first, but I got bored so I roamed the library looking for good books until I decided it was safe to head back to the common room.

A few days later at breakfast, Harry got a tiny note from Hagrid.

"The egg is hatching! We need to go down there!"

"What? We can't leave the castle to watch a dragon hatch!" Hermione said.

"C'mon, Hermione! How many times are we going to get to see a dragon hatch?" Harry asked her.

"We've got lessons! We can't leave the castle!" Hermione had just started, but Harry interrupted her.

"Shh! Malfoy!"

I looked up to see that Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen to our conversation.

All morning, Hermione argued with us until she agreed to go with us during morning break. We ran across the grounds once the bell rang. Hagrid greeted us, looking excited and flushed.

"It's nearly out." He said as he led us inside.

The egg was lying on the table, and it was emitting some odd clicking noises. There were deep cracks running along the length of the egg. We all drew our chairs up and waited.

There was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It was black and crumpled-looking. It had huge spiny wings that made its skinny body look small. It had a long snout, stubs for horns and bulging, orange eyes.

"Isn't he _beautiful_?" Hagrid murmured, more to himself than anyone else. He tried to stroke the dragons head and it snapped at his fingers with pointed fangs.

After a minute, Hagrid looked up at the window, looking paper white.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Someone was lookin' through the curtains-it's a kid-he's runnin' back up ter the school."

Harry jumped up and looked through the window. When he turned around, we all knew it wasn't good.

During the next week, Malfoy kept smirking at us, which made us all really nervous. Harry and Ron had tried to reason with Hagrid, but they always came back disappointed. One day they came back with some good news.

"We're going to see if Charlie will take Norbert." Ron said as he sat next to me on the couch.

"Norbert?" I asked as Harry sat on my other side, holding a piece of parchment and a quill.

"Yeah. That's what Hagrid named him." Harry said, beginning to write.

"Okay…" I said as Ron and I exchanged looks.

The next week went by excruciatingly slowly. On Wednesday, Hermione, Harry and I were sitting in the common room, long after everyone else was in bed. The portrait hole flew open and Ron came threw, throwing the invisibility cloak at Harry as he entered.

"It bit me!" Ron said, thrusting his finger in our faces. He had been at Hagrid's, feeding Norbert.

There was a knock on the window.

"That must be Hedwig! She'll have Charlie's answer!" Harry said, jumping up to open the window.

He let her in and read the note. Charlie had agreed to send some guys in a week to get Norbert. We just had to get him to the tallest tower by midnight on Saturday. We had the invisibility cloak, so it shouldn't be that hard.

By the next morning, Ron was in the hospital wing because his hand had swelled to twice its usual size. Harry had the difficult job of taking Ron up to the hospital wing and trying to hide the fact that it was a dragon bite from Madam Pomfrey. When we came to visit him at the end of the day, he was in a terrible state. Malfoy had come up and asked to borrow one of his books. He kept threatening to tell Madam Pomfrey what really bit Ron.

"I shouldn't have hit him at the Qudditch match. That's why he's doing this." Ron stated.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine by midnight on Saturday." Hermione said, trying to soothe him.

He bolted upright in his seat and started sweating.

"Oh no! I've just remembered that Charlie's letter was in the book Malfoy took! He's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert!"

We didn't have a chance to say anything because Madam Pomfrey came and shooed us out, saying that Ron needed rest.

"It's too late to change our plan now. We have to risk it. It could be the only chance we'll get to get rid of Norbert and we have the invisibility cloak. Malfoy doesn't know about that." Harry said.

When we went to tell Hagrid about Charlie's letter, Fang was outside. His tail had bandages on it. Hagrid opened the window to talk to us. He said he couldn't let us in.

"Norbert's at a tricky stage. Nothin' I can't handle."

We told him about Charlie's letter. His eyes filled with tears, but we'll never know if it was because Norbert was leaving or because Norbert had just bit his leg. When we left his hut that night, we felt that Saturday couldn't come soon enough.

I felt bad for Hagrid having to say good bye to Norbert when the time came, but my worry about getting him up to the tower was stronger than my feelings for Hagrid. We were late getting to the hut because of Peeves and his wall tennis, and the night was dark and cloudy. Hagrid already had Norbert packed and ready for moving in a large crate.

"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey. An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely." Hagrid said in a muffled voice.

I felt terrible, but that feeling would have been ten times worse if Hagrid had been caught harboring an illegal dragon. We put the invisibility cloak over the crate and slipped underneath ourselves while Hagrid said good bye to Norbert.

I don't think we'll ever know how we managed to haul that crate up all of those stairs. Midnight was nearing as we reached the top tower. A sudden movement ahead scared us. We almost dropped the crate. Even though we were already invisible, we shrank into the shadows with the crate. Professor McGonagall came out of the shadows, dragging Malfoy by the ear.

"Detention! And twenty points from Slytherin! Out of bed and wandering around the castle in the middle of the night! How _dare_ you-"

"You don't understand Professor-Harry Potter is coming-he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! I'm going to speak to Professor Snape about you Malfoy!"

After that, the steep stairs up the tower seemed the easiest thing to climb in the world. We took the invisibility cloak off when we reached the top and waited for Charlie's friends to arrive. Eventually, we saw four brooms in the distance. Charlie's friends were very cheery. They showed us the harness that they had made for Norbert and they hooked him up and took him away.

Finally, Norbert was… gone.

We skipped down the stairs, Hermione and I so happy that we could sing, and Harry begging us not to. Nothing could ruin the night for us. Or so we thought, until we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, well, well. We _are_ in trouble aren't we?"

Filch had found us. And we had left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.

A/N: If you liked it, leave a review and read my other stories! Review them too, if you decide to check them out. No flames, constructive criticism is always appreciated. Until next chapter! ~pandagurl7


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **This story hasn't been updated in a year! I'm sorry for the wait. I worked on this chapter all day. I really hope it was worth the wait. Review when you've read it!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Harry Potter.

**Chapter 17**

I'd never felt so terrible. My heart was racing as I realized there was no way we could get out of this. Filch took us straight to Professor McGonagall's study. Hermione, Harry and I waited outside, feeling like we were awaiting the death penalty for a terrible crime we'd committed. We were out of bed after curfew, we had smuggled an illegal dragon to the top of the off-limits tower, and we had been caught without the invisibility cloak. It didn't seem like it could get any worse for us.

Of course, I was wrong.

When our head of house appeared, she was dragging Neville behind her.

"Harry! I was coming to warn you about Malfoy! He said you had a dra-" Neville started, but I noticed that Harry was shaking his head vehemently at the other boy.

I looked up at Professor McGonagall to see that she had noticed Harry too. She looked more likely to breathe fire at us than Norbert ever had.

"I've been told you were up in the astronomy tower. At one in the morning. Explain yourselves." She said. She was towering over us now.

I snuck a quick look at the other two to see if they had any idea what to say, but neither of them moved an inch. I was surprised that Hermione was silent. She had never failed to answer a teacher before now.

Professor McGonagall watched us for a moment before telling us her theory as to why we were up.

"I think I know what's going on here. You three fed Malfoy some story about a dragon, wanting to get him out of bed and in trouble. I've already caught him. You must think it was funny that Longbottom here heard your story too."

Neville looked hurt and confused and I wished I could tell him it wasn't true. He had gone to such lengths to warn us about Malfoy, so that we could avoid this moment.

"I can't believe this! Five students out of bed in the same night! I've never heard anything like it! Miss Granger, Miss Winslow, I thought you knew better. And as for you, Mr. Potter. I thought Gryffindor meant more to you. The four of you will be receiving detentions. Yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom. There's no reason to be out of bed at night, especially now. It's dangerous for all of you. And fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor. Fifty points for each of you."

We all stared at her in shock after her speech. We had lost our house two hundred points in one night. We had just lost all chances of beating the Slytherins for the House Cup. Harry and Hermione started to protest, but Professor McGonagall sent us all off to bed.

When we reached the common room, we all said awkward good night's and headed upstairs. Hermione looked like McGonagall words had burned her. I didn't know what to say to her as we got ready for bed, so I remained silent and crawled into bed, trying to sleep while guilty thoughts swirled through my head.

The next day was hard. All of the Gryffindors who passed the giant hourglasses that recorded house points thought there had been a mistake. But, word soon got out about what really happened. No one would speak to any of us once they had found out what we'd done. Harry had it the hardest, of course. He was the most well-known out of all of us. Harry, Hermione, and I stuck with Ron. No one else would talk to us.

We were able to put a lot more time into studying for our exams now that no one else would talk to us. We were getting more and more homework, and it was easy to finish all of it now that we had time. A week before exams, we all went to the library to study. Harry had decided to go back to the common room and study after awhile.

"So, what are we gonna work on now?" I asked Hermione and Ron.

"I need some help with Astronomy." Ron said.

Hermione looked around the pile of books we had surrounding us at the big library table we had commandeered. It would be awhile before she found what she needed.

"I love the library." I said absently as I stared around at the huge shelves filled with books.

Ron wrinkled his nose in disgust and asked, "Why?"

"I like to read! And besides, it's quiet here and no one else ever comes." I said defensively.

Ron still looked disgusted when we heard Hermione say, "Aha!" as she produced an old, thick book from the pile we had collected.

Hermione began to quiz Ron on Astronomy while I opened a book about Potions and tried to write an essay Snape had assigned us in class. The doors to the library opened just then, and Harry walked in. He looked agitated. He walked straight over to us and told us that he had just heard Snape threatening Quirrell.

"So Snape's done it. He knows how to break the Anti-Dark Force spell and get to the stone." Ron said.

"There's still Fluffy to get by." Hermione pointed out.

"Maybe Snape's figured out how to get past him." I suggested.

"So what do we do?" Ron directed the question at Harry.

"We go to Dumbledore. We should've a long time ago." Hermione said.

"We haven't got _proof_! Quirrell will be too afraid to back us up, and all Snape has to do is say that he doesn't know how the troll got in to the school and he was nowhere near the third floor on Halloween night. It's not exactly a secret that we hate him. Who do you think Dumbledore will believe? Us, or Snape? He'll probably just think we made it all up to get Snape sacked. Filch won't back us up either. He's too friendly with Snape, and he'll just see it as the less students the better. And we'd have to explain how we knew about Fluffy and the stone." Harry said.

Hermione and I saw the logic in what he said, but Ron didn't want to back down.

"We could figure this out! If we do just a bit of looking around-"

"No. We've poked around enough." Harry said.

Harry didn't want to talk about the subject anymore. He pulled out a map of Jupiter and started to study it. Hermione went back to quizzing Ron, and I continued working on my essay in silence.

The next morning at breakfast, Harry, Hermione, Neville and I received our detention notices. We were to serve them at eleven o' clock. We had to meet Filch in the entrance hall and find out what our punishment would be. I wasn't looking forward to it at all.

At eleven, we left the common room in a little group after saying good bye to Ron. When we got down there, we saw Filch and Malfoy waiting for us. Filch lit an oil lamp and told us to follow him as we left the front doors of the school. As we walked, Filch rambled on about how punishment was good for students, and he wished the old ways were back. He said something about having chains in his office and I shuddered in disgust.

I looked around and wondered what we'd be doing for the night. I noticed Hagrid's cabin just as I heard his voice. I brightened slightly, thinking that serving detention with Hagrid wouldn't be so bad.

"You think you'll be enjoying yourselves? Well, think again. You'll be going into the forest tonight and I doubt you'll come out in one piece." Filch said, speaking to me and Harry, who I noticed had been smiling a few seconds ago.

Neville moaned and Malfoy stopped completely.

"The forest? We can't go in there when it's dark! There are werewolves there!" He said, sounding like he was actually afraid. I noticed Neville grab on to the sleeve of Harry's robes.

Filch's face twisted with glee as he said, "Well, you should've thought about that before you got in trouble. Now it's your problem, isn't it?"

Hagrid strode up to us then, his crossbow over his shoulder and Fang at his heel.

"I bin waitin' fer half an hour. All right, Harry, Hermione, Michelle?" He said as he approached.

Filch looked at him and said in a cold voice, "I wouldn't be getting too friendly. They're here to be punished, after all."

"That why yer late? Bin lecturin' them? I'll take over from here." Hagrid said, with a small frown on his face.

"I'll be back at dawn. For what's left of them." Filch threw the last part over his shoulder as he headed back to the castle.

Instantly, Malfoy turned to Hagrid and said, "I'm not going in that forest."

"Yeh are if yer want to stay here." Hagrid said.

Malfoy continued to complain. I tried to drown him out while he talked about how werewolves and things like that were in the woods. Once Hagrid had gotten him to shut up, he led us over to the edge of the forest to explain what our task would be for the night.

He shined his lamp down a path in the forest. He turned to us and said, "See that? The silvery stuff shinin' on the ground? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. I found one dead on Wednesday. We need ter find this one. We may have ter put it out of its misery."

"What if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Malfoy asked, voice shivering with fear.

"There's nothin' in there that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang, an' if yeh stick to the path. We're gonna split inter two groups and follow the trail in diff'rent directions." Hagrid said.

Hagrid split us into two groups after Malfoy said that he wanted to be with Fang. Harry and Hermione were to go with Hagrid, and I was to go with Malfoy and Neville. He told us that if we came across anything, we should send red sparks into the air so the other group would know to come after us. As we entered the dark and silent forest, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of fear. We walked in silence until we reached a split in the path, and we finally parted ways. I walked alongside Neville while Malfoy stayed with Fang slightly ahead of us.

"Why'd we have to go with him?" I asked Neville quietly.

Neville shrugged but said nothing. I could see being in the forest terrified him.

I was afraid too, but I tried not to show it for Neville's sake. Neville kept looking behind us like he sensed something watching. I never got the feeling of being watched, so I didn't know why he was being so paranoid. We walked through the dark trees, the branches and leaves above us making a canopy that sheltered us from the little light the moon was giving off tonight. Clouds kept covering it and making it unnaturally dark, especially under the cover of the trees.

I looked around us cautiously, every now and then thinking I had heard something. When I looked ahead of us, I suddenly realized that Malfoy had disappeared. I looked around, confused. Why would he leave the safety of the path and Fang when he had shown so much fear of the forest earlier?

"Neville, did you see where-"

I was cut off by a loud scream from Neville as Malfoy jumped out of the trees right in front of him. Neville raised his wand in the air and shot red sparks high above the treetops while Malfoy laughed.

"Malfoy you jerk!" I said loudly. My heart was racing, but I hadn't screamed.

He looked at me when I said that. It seemed he had just realized what Neville had done.

"Hagrid's going to be here any second!" I hissed quietly now.

Malfoy's eyes widened just as Hagrid himself burst through the trees. He held his crossbow at the ready, an arrow gleaming from where it was perched, ready to fire.

"What's goin' on?" Hagrid asked.

"Malfoy scared Neville!" I said.

Hagrid lowered his crossbow and glared at Malfoy before telling us all to come with him.

"Yeh must've scared everythin' away by now!" Hagrid said angrily as we came to a clearing and saw Hermione and Harry. They looked frightened.

Hagrid had us switch groups, sending Harry with Malfoy and telling me and Neville to come with him. We followed as we split up to search for what was killing the unicorns again.

We searched in total silence. Neville was too embarrassed to say anything, and I was afraid to. Hermione stayed silent as she followed Hagrid closely, and Hagrid was looking all around him, looking very alert. We walked for more than half an hour, and we couldn't find a thing.

Suddenly, Malfoy and Fang exploded from the trees near us. Malfoy looked terrified and instantly we were all on high alert.

"Where's Harry?" Hagrid barked harshly.

Malfoy pointed shakily to the trees behind him, looking too afraid to say anything. We all ran into the trees, searching for Harry. We heard hooves coming down the path and Hermione ran towards the sound, shouting, "Harry! Harry, are you okay?"

Hagrid and I followed quickly. I heard Harry reassuring everyone he was fine as I approached.

"The unicorn's back in that clearing, Hagrid. It's dead." Harry said from where he sat on a centaur's back.

I watched as the centaur said something to Harry before Harry slipped off of his back. The centaur said something else to Harry that I didn't catch before leaving the clearing without looking back.

When we got back to the common room, we found Ron passed out on a couch. As Harry shook him awake, he shouted something about Quidditch fouls. Harry had Hermione and I sit on the couch with Ron while he told us what had happened in the woods. He told us that he had seen something drinking the unicorn's blood, and that unicorn blood could keep people alive, but it would be a cursed life. He explained that he thought it was Voldemort who was drinking the unicorn's blood so he could stay alive until he got the Sorcerer's Stone to make the Elixir of life. He also told us that a centaur called Bane didn't want him to be saved.

"Snape wants to get the stone for Voldemort, who's waiting in the forest." Harry said as he paced around.

I flinched a little when Harry said the name, and Ron looked terrified.

"Firenze saved me, but Bane says he shouldn't have done so… He said it interfered with what the planets said was going to happen… They must say that Voldemort is coming back…" Harry continued, not noticing the effect saying the name had on us.

"And once Snape gets the stone, all I have to wait for is for Voldemort to finish me off." Harry concluded.

"Stop saying that name!" Ron practically yelled.

"Harry, Dumbledore is the only person You-Know-Who was ever afraid of, and he's here in the school. You-Know-Who won't touch you with Dumbledore around." Hermione reminded Harry.

"Yeah, and all this planet stuff sounds like rubbish. I'm sure it's not a reliable source of information." I added.

Harry seemed a little relieved. When we looked out the window, we realized that it was already light outside. We all decided to head up to our dormitories and get some sleep.

When Hermione and I made it upstairs, we collapsed on our beds in our robes and fell asleep, exhausted from the night's events.

A/N: I know it's not the best I've written, but I'm glad I managed to update it. Review! Constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames! Read my other stories and review them please. I'll try to make sure the next update doesn't take a year. :) ~pandagurl7


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